San Francisco, CA
Daniel Lurie makes it official: He’s San Francisco's next mayor
Daniel Lurie, the first-time candidate, made it official this morning: He is San Francisco’s next mayor, and a public servant who will likely work for free.
“I have to talk to the city attorney about salary. I don’t anticipate taking one, but I have to talk to him about that,” said Lurie, the Levi Strauss heir to a crowd of supporters, campaign staffers, and reporters at St. Mary’s Square in Chinatown on Friday morning. This was the mayor-elect’s first public address since election night.
As for his own wealth, which enabled him to pour over $8.6 million into the campaign, Lurie said he will put all of his holdings into a blind trust on Day One. He takes office on Jan. 8.
Lurie said he received a “gracious call” from Mayor London Breed on Thursday, who conceded the race to Lurie that afternoon, and said she will work with him on a smooth transition.
“Your voices and your call for accountable leadership, service and change have been heard,” Lurie said reflecting on his 13-month-long campaign. “I stand before you, humbled and inspired with the great honor and privilege of serving you, the people of San Francisco, as your next mayor.”
The press conference was scant on details but did offer a couple: He will declare a fentanyl state of emergency on Day One, as he promised on the campaign trail, and he said public safety would be his “No. 1 priority” including focusing on drug dealing. “We’re gonna get tough,” he said.
He reiterated the issues he promised to address during his administration: street cleanliness and safety, drug and behavioral health crises, City Hall corruption and ineffective bureaucracy, housing affordability, small businesses and downtown revitalization.
Lurie acknowledged the challenges ahead: Both San Francisco’s own economic and social challenges and those brought about by the ascent of a second Trump administration. But as to how to prepare for such challenges, the mayor-elect laid out some high-level, common-sense promises, but scant details were revealed during the 15-minute press conference.
Lurie said he will build a world-class administration but didn’t offer any names of who will be on his team — only promising that the administration will “reflect the diversity” of the city. “The people I hire and appoint will not be in service to me, but to all of you and your desire to have a City Hall that works and listens to you,” the mayor-elect promised.
As for the looming fear and worry among San Franciscans in the face of four years of Trump, Lurie, who has “serious disagreement with President Donald Trump,” offered reassurance. “San Francisco will stand up for the rights of all of our neighborhoods,” he said. “We will never turn a blind eye to racism, bigotry, or anti-Asian hate.” He said his disagreements with the Trump administration would not stop him from doing work here in San Francisco.
Fielding questions from the press, Lurie did not say whether he would fire the police chief, and said he would not interfere in the process of Breed appointing a new District 2 supervisor when the incumbent Catherine Stefani leaves for her new job as a California Assemblymember. He was one of the few candidates who declined to offer voters a list of those he would fire, saying that he instead would interview all department heads in the first months of his administration.
As for the San Francisco Unified School District budget that will drop next week, Lurie said will work with Maria Su, the new superintendent.
And as for the persisting illegal street vending issue plaguing the Mission District, Lurie didn’t offer solutions but assures that it will be his focus in the Mission and every corner of the city.
“We have change coming on January 8th, 2025,” Lurie said in closing. “This city will rise again.”
San Francisco, CA
Sea lion pup found in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset malnourished but ‘feisty’
A California sea lion pup found last week on a San Francisco street corner is malnourished but “active and quite feisty,” The Marine Mammal Center said Monday.
The sea lion, believed to be about 10 months old, had apparently wandered into city’s Outer Sunset neighborhood and was discovered early Thursday morning, authorities said.
The pup was spotted near 48th and Irving Streets, one block from Ocean Beach and Sunset Dunes park. A trained responder from the Marine Mammal Center was joined by San Francisco park rangers and police officers to safely corral the pup, now named ‘Irving’, into a carrier crate.
Dubbed ‘Irving’ by his rescuers, Irving weighed in at 40 pounds and is considered malnourished, the Marine Mammal Center said.
“The sea lion is active and quite feisty which is a positive initial sign in terms of general behavior,” the center said in a news release on Monday.
During an exam by veterinarians, a series of blood samples were also taken to determine whether there’s any underlying ailment.
Irving is being tube fed a fish smoothie blend two times per day to boost hydration and weight; offers of whole herring will also begin shortly.
The quick actions by police, recreation and parks staff and Ocean Avenue Animal Hospital gave the young sea lion a second chance at life, said Lauren Campbell, animal husbandry manager at The Marine Mammal Center.
“As a roughly 10-month-old pup in his first year of learning how to forage on his own, this animal has a long road to recovery due to his severe malnutrition,” Campbell said. “We are hopeful that in the coming weeks with continued specialized care that this pup starts to make positive strides toward recovery and release.”
Irving will be held in the Center’s Intensive Quarantine Unit until clearing medical protocols, before likely being transferred this week to a traditional rehabilitation pool pen. A long-term prognosis and potential release timeline are not currently known.
San Francisco, CA
Giants Head Home to San Francisco After Shutout Loss
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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San Francisco, CA
Why do gray whales keep dying in San Francisco’s waters?
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.
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