San Francisco, CA
Billionaire-Backed Nonprofit to Fund San Francisco’s Downtown Recovery Projects | KQED
“It’s not that it’s not a worthy cause,” McMorris said about the DDC’s goals to improve downtown. “But it raises the issue of purchasing influence. I’m sure the people who are being solicited are pretty well-heeled and have their own interests with the city.”
Even simple beautification projects can be a concern, he said: “That has to do with housing and real estate.”
San Francisco voters in 2022 passed a law making it harder for public officials to solicit private donations after a massive corruption scandal sent former city leaders, including Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, to prison.
For the DDC, Lurie will seek a waiver for behested payments — essentially donations requested by public officials for city projects or funds. But this effort is separate from the expanded authority that Lurie gained shortly after taking office through his fentanyl emergency ordinance, which allows him to accept private dollars for programs and services related to homelessness and overdose response.
The DDC will primarily be focused on downtown recovery through “physical upgrades like trees and outdoor dining to economic tools like credit and small business support,” according to a press release.
The group could potentially fundraise to get housing projects off the ground faster as well, according to Stiepleman.
“Shelter and housing are covered by an actual department of the city. And that’s where it ought to be. But to the extent we can be helpful in supplementing plans that bear on making downtown more economically viable, we will be open to that,” he said. “We’re not going to be prescriptive.”
Stiepleman did not share what the group’s initial fundraising goals are or which of the city’s mega donors are tapping in.
Another question McMorris raised: What happens to these private fundraising streams once a new mayoral administration steps in?
“When you’re constantly relying on the private sector to implement or buy into your policies, you become reliant upon them, then the efficacy of government becomes less,” he said.
Stiepleman said the vision is to use private capital to move more quickly on essential projects downtown in the short term, but he hopes the efforts can eventually transfer over to public financing pipelines.
“If we’ve done our job correctly, this becomes a sustained generational kind of effort. Eventually, that has to be generated from public funds,” he said. “But in the meantime, we’re going to get it going with a substantial private capital base.”
San Francisco, CA
Exclusive: San Francisco Police Department investigating Zoox collision with a parked car | TechCrunch
The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an accident involving a Zoox autonomous vehicle that crashed into the driver’s side door of a parked car, TechCrunch has learned.
Officers responded to the crash, which occurred at around 2 p.m. local time on January 17 near the intersection of 15th and Mission Streets, according to the department. The Zoox robotaxi was traveling along 15th street when a street ambassador named Jamel Durden opened the driver’s-side door of his 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, according to MissionLocal, which first reported the crash.
Durden’s hand was reportedly smashed during the crash, and the Zoox vehicle suffered damage to its glass doors. The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) told TechCrunch the Zoox vehicle was carrying a passenger at the time, which has not been previously reported. That passenger was an employee of Zoox, according to the company, and was not injured, which the SFPD confirmed.
The police department declined to provide TechCrunch with an incident report “[d]ue to the fact it is still an open investigation.” Zoox filed its own police report about the incident, the company told TechCrunch, but said no additional details have been requested. In a statement on January 20, Zoox said it was “cooperating with local authorities to provide an accurate account of the incident.”
The California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates autonomous vehicles in the state, has also met with Zoox about the January 17 crash. The DMV told TechCrunch that Zoox filed a crash report “in compliance with California regulations.” That report is not yet publicly available.
Zoox is in the early stages of building out its robotaxi service in San Francisco. In November, the company started offering free rides to members of the public who are part of the “Zoox Explorer” early-rider program. The company is operating a similar program in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This rollout has come with challenges. The Amazon-owned company issued a recall in December to fix an issue where some of its vehicles were crossing center lanes and blocking crosswalks. (Zoox also issued two different software updates during recalls earlier in 2025 before it started offering public rides.)
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The January crash in San Francisco happened when Durden “suddenly opened” the door of his car into the path of the robotaxi, according to Zoox. The company said the robotaxi “identified the opening door and tried to avoid it but contact was unavoidable.” (Durden’s employer could not be reached for comment.)
Zoox also said it offered medical attention to Durden, who allegedly declined. According to MissionLocal, Durden refused medical treatment until his car was towed.
“Safety and transparency are foundational to Zoox, and we are cooperating with local authorities to provide an accurate account of the incident,” the company said in a statement.
San Francisco, CA
Video: Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco
new video loaded: Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco
transcript
transcript
Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco
Residents were shocked to see a young mountain lion roaming the streets of San Francisco this week. Local animal control agencies were able to capture and tranquilize it on Tuesday.
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Swear to God, am I tripping? There’s a mountain lion. What is that? I can see it. Oh my God. What the. Dude!
By Cynthia Silva
January 27, 2026
San Francisco, CA
Animal control locates mountain lion in San Francisco
A young mountain lion that was spotted Monday night in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood has been located, city officials said.
Around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, city officials said San Francisco Animal Care and Control found the mountain lion and that they are working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to manage the situation. No injuries were reported.
A biologist is on their way to the scene, with the plan to tranquilize the animal and move it to a suitable location, officials said.
The mountain lion was first reported Monday night after being seen near Octavia Street and Pacific Avenue, according to an alert from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.
Animal Care and Control officials said experts believe the animal is about a year old. It had also been seen earlier Monday morning near Lafayette Park, just a few blocks from the later sighting.
City officials said the mountain lion was likely lost and may have been trying to move south out of the city.
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