Some San Francisco roadways and neighborhoods experienced minor flooding Friday as the atmospheric river dumped heavy rain on the city.

Matthew Coric said he was inside his restaurant when all the sudden he noticed water rising outside.

“Water was coming over the curb already and Rainbow Grocery closed for the day because they flooded or started to flood, and the next two restaurants had water in their restaurant already,” said Coric.

Two years ago during another big storm, the entire block flooded with several feet of water.

Coric told KPIX he was determined to not let that happen again, so he and some of his employees grabbed brooms and anything else they could get their hands on and ran towards the flooding.

“These two drains right here on either side of the street, we literally couldn’t see them. This was up above the curb. We were just blindly scraping trying to get it unclogged until we could see the little tornado start,” said Coric.

He said they were able to unclog the drain just in time to stop the water from flooding his restaurant, and that it took about 30 minutes for the water to fully recede. 

While he is happy they were able to avoid another crisis, he said he wishes the city would have been monitoring the area so that he and his employees didn’t have to fix it on their own.

“It flooded two years ago, and then last year the city was like high alert. They would park their trucks out here and make sure nothing happened. But now it’s been two years, they forgot about us again and same thing happened,” said Coric.

He said, from now on when it rains, he’s going to monitor the drains himself and step in anytime he sees them getting clogged.

He recommends that others in areas where flooding happens do the same.

“If you’re out on the street, anybody right, and you see the drain overflowing, I know if you can wait for the city that’s great, but it might not come. Just clean it yourself or get somebody that can just to save everybody a bunch of headaches,” said Coric.

SAN FRANCISCO – Nearly 10 years after a quadruple murder, drive-by shooting shocked the San Francisco Hayes Valley neighborhood, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Friday announced the conviction of the San Francisco man responsible. 

The D.A.’s office issued a news release that said Lee Farley, 36, was found guilty by a jury on four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances when he opened fire on an occupied vehicle on the night of January 9, 2015.  

According to evidence and testimony, four men were ambushed from behind on Laguna Street just south of Page Steet at around 10 p.m.

The jury found that Farley committed this act as a participant of a criminal street gang and that he was a felon in possession of a firearm. 

Police arrested Farley in the summer of 2016. He was already serving time at a federal prison in Atwater on unrelated weapons charges when he was taken into custody. 

The slayings of Manuel O’Neal, David Saucier II, Harith Atchan and Yalani Chinyamurindi left the victims’ families in turmoil as they waited for justice. 

“I would like to thank the jury for their service in this trial,” said District Attorney Jenkins. “I would also like to thank the mothers and families of the murdered men for their patience, faith and trust in my office to get justice for their families. Our strong legal team fought hard, understanding that while nothing we do can bring back their loved ones, that hopefully this verdict brings them some comfort.”

The D.A. thanked her team and the San Francisco Police Department’s homicide unit for their work on this case. 

Farley’s sentencing will be scheduled after a bench trial on priors. That date is set for Dec. 16, 2024. 

The San Francisco Giants are expected to swing big this offseason as they look to get themselves back into playoff contention.

A pitch to superstar slugger Juan Soto is considered to be that first big swing, although they are not expected to end up landing him.

Assuming the Giants end up missing on Soto, there are plenty of other fallback options that they could consider.

Pete Alonso and Anthony Santander are two other free agents that the Giants have been connected to. However, there is also a potential trade target that has been linked to San Francisco.

Looking at the needs the Giants have, they could use more starting pitching, especially if Blake Snell ends up leaving town in free agency. But San Francisco could also use more offensive firepower. They need a big bat to plug into their lineup.

With that in mind, Chicago Cubs star outfielder and first baseman Cody Bellinger has come up as a potential option.

Zach Pressnell of Newsweek has named the Giants as one of the top potential trade suitors for Bellinger if the Cubs end up trading him. Reports have come out that Chicago would like to trade their star this offseason. With new leadership in San Francisco, after the hiring of Bustery Posey as president of baseball operations, there is a chance the former All-Star catcher would listen on a deal for the slugger.

“San Francisco has to chase the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres in its own division before it can worry about coming home with the World Series title,” Pressnell wrote. “A move for Bellinger would push the Giants in the right direction without breaking the bank.”

Bellinger would certainly be an intriguing option for San Francisco. He’s set to make $27.5 million in 2025 and then will have another choice to make before the 2026 season, as his current deal has another option year. There is a chance that he could opt into another year of his deal at $25 million.

During the 2024 MLB season, Bellinger produced lower numbers than expected. However, he dealt with some injury issues and the Cubs as a whole played under expectations.

He played in 130 total games, hitting 18 home runs to go along with 78 RBI. Bellinger also recorded a slash line of .266/.325/.426.

Just one year previously in 2023, Bellinger had a much stronger season. He hit .307/.356/.525 to go along with 26 home runs and 97 RBI. He was also named the National League Comeback Player of the Year award winner.

All of that being said, the former National League MVP would be an excellent addition for the Giants. Depending on what Chicago is asking for in return, San Francisco should strongly consider making a push to acquire him.