San Francisco, CA
Daniel Lurie’s bizarre, cynical pick for Sunset supervisor
Last week, Mayor Daniel Lurie stole a page from the script of the president whose name he refuses to utter. By appointing a glaringly inexperienced and unqualified supervisor to represent the Sunset District, the mayor made an uncharacteristically cynical and risky move — especially for someone whose own thin resume was a liability in his run for office.
As far as I can tell, Lurie’s political calculus in naming to the Board of Supervisors Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz — a 29-year-old former pet-supply shop owner who never had shown the slightest interest in San Francisco’s civic affairs — goes something like this. By appointing someone who is a blank slate, with no known positions on anything other than loving the Sunset, Lurie has birthed a lawmaker who will be completely loyal to him. If Alcaraz can somehow win a special election in June, and then a general election five months later, he will have created an iron-clad ally on the famously fractious board.
But this is a huge risk for the mayor. He and the team that vetted Alcaraz will be wholly responsible for guiding her through the complexities of governing and politicking, from helping staff her legislative office to positioning her for a campaign against formidable competition.
The mayor got Alcaraz off to a quick start: As The Standard’s Power Play newsletter reported Sunday, Lurie is activating his “prodigious fundraising network” to support the new supe, and his staff is already helping her hire her own. On Friday, he accompanied her to the annual Bruce-Mahoney football match between St. Ignatius College Preparatory School and Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, where Lurie (opens in new tab)threw an impressive, pre-game spiral (opens in new tab) and Alcaraz wore her SI varsity jacket from her days on the high school’s crew team.
Lurie is already attempting to spin Alcaraz’s shortcomings into positives. “When I talk to Beya, I see someone who is not a career politician, but has spent her life in service to this community,” he said at her swearing-in ceremony. “She doesn’t owe anyone anything other than the people who live right here in the Sunset.”
It’s impossible to fault Alcaraz, who had the gumption to approach Lurie at a night market, for wanting this role. Before last week, she was working for an after-school enrichment program, having apparently mucked up her failed pet store, which smelled “like death” when she handed it over to a new owner, The Standard reported Monday. Now she is (opens in new tab)earning more than $175,000 a year (opens in new tab) in a government job with top-notch benefits.
Chutzpah alone, however, is a poor substitute for qualifications, experience, or even previously demonstrated curiosity about the subject matter.
Alcaraz attended Diablo Valley College in the East Bay and City College of San Francisco, but didn’t receive a degree from either. She told me in a brief phone interview Saturday that she studied physics and business, but didn’t finish the coursework because she devoted herself seven days a week to her store. (She bought the store in 2019, when she would have been at least 22 years old, more than enough time to have earned a two-year associate degree.)
College is neither for everyone nor a prerequisite for success in life. It is, however, required for many jobs in the government of the City of San Francisco. For example, the city stipulates that candidates for a senior administrative analyst role, a relatively low-level bureaucratic position, have “a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and three years full-time equivalent experience performing professional-level analytical work.”
Legislative aides on the Board of Supervisors, the type of people who will work under Alcaraz, must have “two years of general administrative or office-management experience, preferably in a public or community-based agency,” or have graduated from “a four-year college or university … or an equivalent combination of training and experience.”
Alcaraz doesn’t merely lack credentials. Before she pitched Lurie, she hadn’t shown any clear interest in government. I asked her over the weekend if she had ever been to a Board of Supervisors meeting or a commission hearing. “I have been diligently reviewing the videos,” she told me, referring to (opens in new tab)SFGovTV (opens in new tab) replays of legislative sessions, which I took to mean she hadn’t.
I have, in past columns, railed against the multitude of San Francisco’s commissions, and I often am stupefied at the hours of time wasted by the city’s prodigious public commentariat. But say one thing for the volunteer public servants on the dais and the gadflies who grill them: They show up. They demonstrate their interest in the city’s governmental affairs.
Alcaraz listed for me examples of her civic engagement. “I’ve always been very active in the service world. I have volunteered at at-risk youth camps. I coached basketball. I did a pet-food bank. I would work the church fundraisers for sports camps and help plan parts of the dinners.” She also compared herself to Lurie: “I think the mayor is kind of an example of someone who wasn’t in office before, and then suddenly was,” she said.
Oh my. I am not here to denigrate the value of bake sales and church dinners and the good deeds they fund. But they hardly are preparation for the complexities of this city’s legislative affairs, which are a convoluted mess that take even seasoned operators decades to learn.
Alcaraz told an affecting tale last week about her frustration with applying for a permit to build an animal-waste shed behind her shop, and how the experience will help her empathize with the plight of small-business owners. No doubt. But that’s a bit like saying that suffering the indignity of being kept waiting for hours in the emergency room makes you eligible to be a surgeon.
The elephant in the room of Alcaraz’s unlikely ascension is the outsized controversy over last year’s Prop K — which closed a section of the Great Highway to cars and created the Sunset Dunes park — as well as the subsequent firestorm that cost Engardio his job. Alcaraz has refused to say how she voted on K. She told me she wants to look forward rather than “causing new divisiveness.”
Based on a defensive comment she made last week, though, I’m guessing she voted yes. “The way I voted on Prop. K is because we didn’t have all the facts,” she said at her appearance with Lurie. “We weren’t informed. I did the best I could with the information I was given.”
I asked her why she felt uninformed. “What I mean by that is the way in which Prop K was introduced,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously, the Sunset felt completely betrayed and blindsided. There was no public forum. We weren’t able to voice our feelings.”
The response suggests Alcaraz already has mastered the typical gripe of San Franciscans who don’t like a thoroughly aired out policy decision — and proceed to complain they aren’t being heard. That Engardio bamboozled his constituents is an assertion with which opposing sides will never agree. That the Sunset wasn’t able to voice its feelings before and after the vote on Prop K is laughably untrue.
Americans may have to settle for a (opens in new tab)TV host as defense secretary (opens in new tab) and an (opens in new tab)insurance lawyer (opens in new tab) as the U.S. Attorney in a key federal district for years to come. That’s a reality that liberal San Franciscans have to live with. But residents of District 4 will not have to accept Alcaraz. They will have their say about who represents them — and how respected by the mayor they feel — in seven short months.
If Lurie doesn’t regret this decision already, he may then.
Bay Area High School baseball fans are treated to a rare opportunity Saturday (April 18) with three games at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, including the famed Bruce-Mahoney clash between West Catholic Athletic League rivals St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The first pitch of the 20th annual Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic starts at 11 a.m. and pits two more San Francisco private schools as University (9-7), winners of four straight, taking on Riordan (5-11).
That will be followed by the Bruce-Mahoney game at 2:30 between St. Ignatius (12-5, 4-2 WCAL) and the Irish (7-10, 1-5) and finished off with a North Coast Section clash between North Bay’s Marin Catholic (9-7) against Acalanes (7-6-1).
The Benedetti Classic, founded by Dante’s Boys Foundation board member Tom Lounibos and Giants president Larry Baer, benefits the DBF which honors the spirit of Benedetti who for nearly 40 years owned San Francisco’s Mr. Baseball nickname for his kindness and generosity to baseball-playing youth in the area.
Among their philanthropic efforts are glove and baseball equipment drives, field renovations and contributions to scholarships and sponsorships.
After starting the season 0-4 — three of those losses were by one run — University, under head coach Andrew Suvunnachuen, has found its way, winning the last four, all in Bay Counties League play, by a combined 51-6 count over Lick-Wilmerding (16-1 and 11-3) and San Domenico (13-2 and 11-0).
Senior catcher and pitcher Jett Messenger leads the way with a .447 average, while getting on base at a .638 rate. He also leads the team with 20 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Tate Gebhart is hitting .419, while Leo Felder and Behbart share the RBI lead with 15 each.
Junior Matthew Foley is 3-2 on the mound with a 2.38 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
Riordan, under second-year head coach Craig Sargent, was 5-5 in nonleague games but lost six straight in the rugged WCAL, losing two tough games this week to Mitty (3-2 and 7-4). Junior third baseman and pitcher Santiono Williams leads the team in batting average (.371), on-base percentage (.488) and stolen bases (nine). He’s also been the team’s top pitcher at 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
The teams have split two previous games in their history, with Riordan winning 2-0 in 2023 and University prevailing 5-0 in 2021.
St. Ignatius, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Pollzzie, has already secured the Bruce-Mahoney trophy with four straight wins — one each in football, girls volleyball, boys basketball and girls basketball — but this rivalry is always spirited.
The Wildcats, who are ranked fourth in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle, are coming off a tough 3-0 home loss to No. 2 St. Francis on Friday after beating the host Lancers 10-6 on Tuesday.
The team is led by Stanford-bound Archer Horn, who is hitting .486 with four home runs and a .604 on-base percentage. The shortstop and pitcher also has not allowed an earned run in three pitching appearances while registering one save.
Pitching is a team’s strength with a 2.59 ERA, led by a brigade of strong arms including Leo Rhein (2-0, 2.38), Tycco Giometti (2-1, 2.62), Charlie Stecher 1-1, 0.72) and Chase Gordon (1-0, 2.80). The team is missing standout Finn Demuth, out of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, led by fourth-year head coach Gregg Franceschi, has scored 60 runs on the season and given up 61. The Irish are coming off two losses to eighth-ranked Valley Christian (5-2 and 10-1).
They are led offensively by junior outfielder Brody O’Sullivan (.381) and senior infielder Jacob Vines (.378). Johnny Nepomuceno and Max Nylander are other run-producers. Zach Stallworth (37 strikeouts, 29.2 innings) and Cooper Rogers Lewis (0.25 ERA) have been the team’s top pitchers.
The series has been remarkably close since 2005 with Sacred Heart Cathedral holding a 27-20 edge, though St. Ignatius won both games last season (5-0 and 6-3) after the Irish won 9-7 and 1-0 in 2024.
Marin Catholic hopes to get back to winning after starting the season 9-1, but have since lost six straight, four in Marin County Athletic League play, including 4-2 to Novato on Thursday. Senior outfield Luke Martin is the team’s leading hitter at .478 while senior infielder and pitcher Cooper Mitchell is at .455. Senior infielder Walker Untermann leads the team with 15 RBIs.
Acalanes is at the other end of the spectrum, winners of five of six after a 2-5-1 start. Junior infielder Tyler Winkles, also a highly recruited quarterback in football, leads the team with a .383 average and nine stolen bases. Riley Gates (2-3, 2.49 ERA, 30 strikeouts) is the team’s top pitcher.
The teams have played three times, all since 2022, with Marin Catholic owning a 2-1 lead. Acalanes won last year’s game 8-7.
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Chinatown fatal crash victim ID’d, safety measures proposed
The victim killed in Friday’s Chinatown crash was identified Monday by the medical examiner as Cutberto Zamora-Martinez, 49, of San Joaquin County. At a meeting on Monday, city officials said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
SAN FRANCISCO – A 76-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and speeding following a crash in San Francisco’s Chinatown that killed a man working in the area.
Zhuo Ming Lu, 76, is accused in the March 27 crash that left 49-year-old Cutberto Zamora-Martinez, of San Joaquin County, dead.
Suspect was trying to park
What we know:
Authorities said Lu was attempting to park near Grant Avenue and Jackson Street when his vehicle jumped the sidewalk and crashed into the landmark New Lung Ting Café, also known as the Pork Chop House. The vehicle also struck two pedestrians, including Zamora-Martinez.
Zamora-Martinez died from his injuries.
He had been working in the area, according to a GoFundMe page. A San Francisco Police Department source close to the investigation told KTVU the victims were carpet installers arriving for work.
The fundraising page described Zamora-Martinez as a husband and father who was the sole provider for his family and “a humble man who wanted the best for his family.”
Before his arrest, Lu had been cooperating with investigators. Authorities have not confirmed what caused the crash.
Some residents questioned whether the driver’s age or a possible confusion between the brake and gas pedals may have been factors.
“Maybe if people hit a certain age, you got to get retested for your driver’s license is something I was thinking about,” said Keith Hong, who works next door to the crash site.
Another case involving an elderly driver
Big picture view:
In an unrelated case, Mary Fong Lau, 80, was sentenced to probation after killing a family of four, two parents and their young children. in March 2024. Authorities said Lau struck the victims as they waited at a Muni stop on their way to the zoo.
Lau pleaded no contest to four felony counts of vehicular manslaughter, and a judge accepted the plea. A Superior Court judge cited her age, remorse and lack of criminal history in the sentencing decision.
She was placed on probation for two years, banned from driving for three years and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.
The Source: San Francisco Police Department, prior reporting
San Francisco first came to know chefs Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz through their pop-up Istanbul Modern, and later through their breakthrough Presidio restaurant Dalida. The duo’s success is grounded in their take on Eastern Mediterranean food, which they made a conscious decision to champion 10 years ago.
Fast-forward to 2026, and now Laura is taking on a personal project of her own, with Sayat by her side, placing foods from Mexico’s Guerrero and Sinaloa center stage at Maria Isabel. It’s a refreshing menu that combines both Mexican and local ingredients, through the lens of the Ozyilmazes cooking backgrounds.
Reservations are released on OpenTable 30 days in advance, but Laura confirmed that they do take walk-ins depending on space. Smaller parties or solo diners might have better luck sliding in, thanks to the counter in the brighter, “Maria” portion of the restaurant.
The cocktails from consulting bar director Evan Williams are always worth a glimpse, whether at Dalida or at Maria Isabel. They’re well-balanced and have incredible depth and technique behind them. That being said, the team sourced wines from woman-led wine brands such as LOTIS Wines and Amevive Wine, if you’re looking to explore past the usual selections you’ll see elsewhere.
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