SAN FRANCISCO — They filed in tentatively, taking seats on plush couches and folding chairs arranged in a semicircle in the cafe’s gently lit backroom. Here would be safe to share their deepest feelings, they were assured, to unspool their still-fresh emotions.
San Francisco, CA
At Manny’s cafe, group therapy for newly hopeful Democrats
In one of America’s most liberal cities, this is where San Franciscans come when they need a place to process the latest political bombshell. So they did Monday, gathering after President Biden ended his reelection campaign and ceded the spotlight to one of the Bay Area’s own. In confessional tones, person after person reported how their mood had changed overnight: from depression to delight, anxiety to excitement.
The preceding weeks had been traumatizing, the previous 24 hours life-affirming.
“I think for the first time in months I feel so optimistic,” said Chandru Murthi, a 77-year-old resident who was the first in the circle to share.
Manny Yekutiel imagined exactly this type of discussion when he founded his hybrid coffee shop, bar, bookstore and event space in the Mission district in 2018. The 34-year-old political science major is a longtime Democratic fundraiser and strategist, and he decided to open shop after Donald Trump’s election.
Since then, Manny’s has become a pillar of the city’s political scene, a physical retreat for like-minded souls to talk at a time when so much discourse is chronically online. The back of the cafe is decorated like a living room, with floor lamps, house plants, even a red vintage rug from Yekutiel’s childhood home in Los Angeles.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and first lady Jill Biden are among the prominent Democrats who have all stopped in. Vice President Harris, now the party’s likely ticket-topper in the November election, is also a fan. “You’re amazing,” she told Yekutiel during one of her visits.
For anyone looking to do a wellness check on the psyche of a deeply blue stronghold at this historic moment, Manny’s is where to go.
Responding to Biden’s news, Yekutiel reworked the week’s schedule, starting with Monday’s session. He kicked things off as discussion leader. “Let’s ground this in how we feel right now,” he told the crowd of about three dozen people. “How are we feeling as Democrats, as San Franciscans, as people who have a lot at stake in this election?”
“I feel excited, I feel hopeful,” said Angelina Polselli, 24. “It feels like everyone finally woke up from a long, long nap.”
As Manny’s resident Gen Z expert, she noted that young people have some concerns with Harris, particularly her record as a prosecutor. But there’s also the “brat” factor, which Polselli had to explain to an audience who appeared largely unfamiliar with the catalogue of Charli XCX.
“It feels exciting to have a young candidate who is energized and youthful and who is also talking to young people and using the language we use,” she added.
Soon, however, that familiar fear crept back in.
“I’m a little bit worried about a San Francisco liberal carrying the battleground states,” said Dan Rink, 81 and himself a liberal from the Bay Area.
“I’m not sure she’s a liberal, I view her as more moderate,” David Anderson, 55, a film industry veteran, chimed in.
Yekutiel took a poll: “How many of you, if you’re willing to raise your hand, are worried about her ability to win?” About half the circle responded, though several acknowledged they were “more hopeful than 24 hours ago.”
Hope has been in short supply all year for this crowd. Enthusiasm, even shorter.
“The last few weeks were really difficult because people have just felt this dread, that there’s no point,” Yekutiel said. “And now I have all these ideas, my mind has been racing, people are reaching out to me, asking how they can help. That was not happening 24 hours ago.”
Two nights later, Manny’s hosted a watch party for Biden’s Oval Office address, his first since exiting the campaign. Despite the new themed drinks — “Kamalattes,” sweetened with coconut syrup, of course — the affair was solemn.
As the president’s speech played on a small TV opposite the barista station, some 20 people fell silent and clustered around the screen. Passersby stopped to watch through the cafe’s open front windows. A woman named Lydia walked in to order a mocha and wound up staying for the whole thing.
The elated embrace of Harris expanded to a tearful appreciation of Biden.
“I felt in his voice and his speech and his words so much love for this country,” Michelle Jeong said, choking up. “The hope, unity and the lack of ego.”
For Mike Madison, who had also attended the Monday gathering, the sentiment was overdue. Lost in the memes and the Harris hullabaloo was the fact that Biden had just made a tremendous sacrifice, he said.
“I wanted people to remember what he’s done, his real accomplishments,” Madison said.
If night one’s theme was relief and celebration and night two’s was gratitude, a third event Thursday was something of a reality check. It was also the largest gathering of the week, squeezing about 175 people into Manny’s backroom for a panel featuring two journalists dissecting the upcoming campaign and Harris’s prospects for victory.
“It’s not going to be easy, let’s be clear. It’s not going to be easy to win in November,” said Scott Shafer, politics editor at KQED, a Bay Area public radio station.
The evening served as a call to action: “This is our hometown candidate, she’s one of us,” Yekutiel said. “So we are going to be needed to propel her to this highest office.”
For those interested in getting involved, he announced a very San Francisco option: A “disco for democracy” party, with proceeds going to get-out-the-vote efforts in neighboring Nevada. Only days earlier, when Biden was still heading the Democratic ticket, such festivities were a harder sell, Yekutiel said. But now there was something to dance about.
Lalita Abhyankar, a physician, was ready to volunteer. “I want to knock on doors,” she said. “I’ve never felt this way about a candidate, not even Obama. … I can vote for her instead of just voting against Trump. It feels amazing.”
Thursday was her first time at a Manny’s discussion, she said. A friend told her it was the place to be this week, and she wanted company as she reveled in her new enthusiasm. Sometimes even those who didn’t know they cared leave Manny’s fired up — like the woman who happened to walk in just before Biden’s address.
“She came in for a mocha and participated in a major historic moment,” Yekutiel said. “That was my vision for this place — you trap people with beer and coffee so they don’t even realize they’re walking into a political space. And then, they’re in.”
The San Francisco Giants have been around for more than 125 years. It’s hard to find something they haven’t done before.
It’s not quite as hard to find something they haven’t done since the team moved from New York to San Francisco before the 1958 season. But, on Saturday, the Giants managed it.
San Francisco lost to the Miami Marlins, 6-3, in the sloppiest game the Giants have played this season. That sloppiness was defined by two things. San Francisco pitchers hit four batters. San Francisco fielders committed four errors.
Per Justice delos Santos of the San Jose Mercury-News (subscription required), the Giants had never done that since they moved from New York. It was just the third time in franchise history, dating back to 1883 that the franchise had ever done that.
What Happened in Miami?
Rafael Devers committed a fielding error, which was his fifth of the season. Pitcher Trevor McDonald committed his second error of the season on a missed catch. Catcher Eric Haase had it worse. He had two errors, one on catcher’s interference and another on a throw.
As for hitting batters, McDonald dominated there. He hit three of them — Kyle Stowers, Leo Jimenez and Esteury Ruiz. Matt Gage also hit Jimenez.
Much of that action came in the fourth inning, when the Giants gave up four runs in game in which they were tied with the Marlins. Ruiz was hit by a pitch, stole second and then went to third on Haase’s throwing error. He scored on a single by Jakob Marsee.
Otto Lopez singled and that ended the day for McDonald, who took the loss. Gage walked Stowers to load the bases. Gage then got Xavier Edwards to ground into a double play, which scored a run but got the Giants two outs. It didn’t help.
Heriberto Herandez homered off Gage, making it 6-2. Gage allowed a single to Owen Caissie and then hit Jimenez with a pitch before San Francisco went to JT Brubaker. He got the final out, inducing a flyout by Joe Mack.
Only four of the six runs the Giants gave up were earned.
Now 14 games under .500, the Giants (31-45) will return home after Sunday’s finale with the Marlins and get a day off. After that, San Francisco renews its rivalry with the Athletics from Tuesday-Thursday, followed by a three-game series with the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.
San Francisco is moving toward July and likely determining which players it wants to put on the trade market to either trim payroll or arrange its roster to try and turn things around in 2027.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco celebrates Black freedom at weekend Juneteenth parade: ‘We’re all people’
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Under bright blue skies, large crowds gathered Saturday to celebrate Juneteenth in San Francisco, dancing, cheering and waving flags in a day of joy marking the end of slavery in the United States.
The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Texas and announced that enslaved Black people were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Some view Juneteenth as America’s second Independence Day.
“I think for the greater community to see that Juneteenth is a national holiday and that we represent it, everyone can understand what it means to African American people, what it means the day we were freed from slavery,” said Tamara Walker, an event coordinator.
Now recognized as a federal holiday for the past five years, Juneteenth also represents a broader pursuit of justice.
“I had the pride and honor of voting for this Juneteenth holiday in Congress,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, speaker emerita.
MORE: What is Juneteenth and why is it celebrated? What to know for 2026
Festivities included a parade and performances, with participants celebrating community and culture.
Rev. Ishmael Burch of Glide Memorial Church said he has marked the occasion for decades.
“Juneteenth, I’ve been doing it for 35 years: the parade and the festivals. We need Juneteenth. It’s growing in Oakland, Richmond, San Jose — all around,” Burch said.
Organizers and participants emphasized that the holiday also highlights ongoing efforts for equity and opportunity.
“Juneteenth represents us being here, us growing small businesses, us kids having access to safe places to be in the future, being able to have the same access to good schools,” Walker said.
Eighteen-year-old Mekai Smith, the parade’s grand marshal, called the day meaningful.
“It’s truly a blessing to be here. I feel part of my culture is part of Juneteenth,” Smith said.
For attendees like Emeryville resident Trey Green, the celebration was also a chance to share history across generations.
“I just explained to him yesterday what the meaning of Juneteenth is about: for me and him and how it’s a part of our history and now he gets to experience it first-hand,” Green said of his young son.
As the festivities continued, many reflected on the holiday’s importance as both a historical milestone and a moment of unity.
“We’re all people. Doesn’t matter what color we are. We all experience different things. But at the end of the day, we’re all people,” Green said.
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The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball this season, prompting the front office to explore operating as sellers this summer. Amid a flurry of MLB trade rumors this week about a potential firesale, there is now more buzz regarding the future of Matt Chapman with the team.
MLB insider Robert Murray spoke to executives around the league who said that Chapman is “the most appealing” trade target of the group that also includes Rafael Devers and Willy Adames.
Matt Chapman Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman contract (Spotrac): $25.166 million AAV (2026-2030)
It’s no surprise that Chapman is the most coveted player among the highly-paid trio. He is a Gold Glove Award winner at third base who can still provide well above-average fielding at the hot corner as a 33-year-old. On top of that, he is also outproduced Adames by a wide margin this season and offers far greater positional value than Devers.
However, there is a complicating factor. Chapman has played 10 seasons in the majors and has a full no-trade clause. He also made it clear to reporters this week that he prefers to remain in San Francisco, especially since he is a California native.
Rafael Devers Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman stats (2026): .252/.337/.400, .737 OPS, 7 home runs, 41 RBI in 309 plate appearances
As a result, per Murray, San Francisco is not expected to move him this offseason. That makes it even more likely that the club’s highest-paid players remain with the team for the remainder of the season, with president of baseball operations Buster Posey expected to pursue alternative options.
More than likely, the Giants will instead be trading the likes of Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, and Luis Arraez. All three veterans are on expiring contracts, so San Francisco will attempt to get whatever it can for them on the trade market next month.
Willy Adames Trade Landing Spots
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