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Incumbent San Francisco Mayor London Breed says childhood memories guide her policy

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Incumbent San Francisco Mayor London Breed says childhood memories guide her policy


Stepping inside London Breed’s San Francisco apartment, you instantly feel her connection to generations of family that she says are bonded both by blood and by love.

“I remember this day when I took this picture,” she points at a photo of her kindergarten self. “I remember crying because I didn’t want to wear this shirt. Because I was wearing this shirt almost every day. So, it was like, ‘I want to wear a different shirt.’ I mean, even at five, I was a piece of work. I didn’t understand we didn’t have it to buy a different shirt it was like you’re going to wear what you have.”

She was raised by her grandmother Comelia, whose impact can be felt in each part of the mayor’s home which she’s rented for several years.

“Photos, if we were lucky enough to take any, you know it was a big deal, because now you have them on your cameras, but I don’t have a lot of pictures from when I was a kid,” she explained. “Because we didn’t have money for that.”

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But to a young London, growing up in poverty and dependent on food stamps in the same city she now leads, she never could have imagined the shoes she’d later step into.

“I know what it feels like for people in positions like this to make decisions that negatively impact my community,” she explained, reflecting on her upbringing. “And I never want to be one of those people.”

To prepare to make decisions she hopes will carry a positive impact, each morning she tries to dedicate a moment just for herself. Making coffee, watering her beloved plants, and hopping on her Peloton bike for a ride with favorite Cody Riggsby while reviewing her notes for the day.

All with a reminder of her grandmother’s strength.

“A bit of that tough love that my grandmother it was like, you cannot live here unless you do your homework, make up your bed and clean up. There were rules, and I believe in rules,” said Breed. “I believe in structure and that allows for everyone to have an opportunity to be a part of a better community, a better society. I hope is that people learn that it’s not just politics. For me, it’s very personal.”

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Her role as mayor has brought some healing to Breed, who recalls her own experience living among conditions she’s worked to improve during her six years in office.

“I know what that’s like, to count pennies, to roll up pennies and to go in with my 50 cents, you know, and try to buy something,” she said. “Being housing insecure and being afraid because of the violence, and being poor and broke and just feeling hurt and angry about everything all the time. It just was most of my life because we had no choice.”

But it’s a time she tries to apply in each decision she makes. 

“It is definitely a blessing to be able to go through that and to use those same experiences as a way to shape policy that could hopefully lead to better results for the people who have similar experiences like I do,” Breed said.

MORE MAYORAL CANDIDATE PROFILES IN THIS SERIES

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Giants Predicted to Spend This Offseason in Free Agency

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San Francisco Giants Predicted to Spend This Offseason in Free Agency


The San Francisco Giants are heading into free agency and the offseason as a very interesting team to watch. 

It was another disappointing season for the Giants in 2024, as they finished under .500 once again and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. 

The struggles in San Francisco resulted in a change in the front office, as Buster Posey took over as the President of Baseball Operations. 

With the decision to add Posey to the front office, the hope is that he will be able to lure in some of the top caliber free agents that they have been missing out on in recent years. 

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The Giants haven’t been shy about spending money, but that money hasn’t always went to the right places. 

Recently, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report ranked teams in different tiers based on what they will spend this offseason. For San Francisco, he placed them in the tier that will be spending this winter. 

“Perhaps the most interesting team on this list is the Giants, with former NL MVP Buster Posey now serving as their president of baseball operations. He’s talked about wanting to figure the shortstop position out, which is why we’ve projected the Giants as the landing spot for Adames. But San Francisco has had a hard time getting star players to sign on the dotted line in recent years, probably due in large part to Oracle Park being seen as a bad place to hit at 81 times a season.”

While the Giants have the desire to sign a superstar and the next face of the franchise, there have been some indications that they might not break the bank this offseason. However, at the same time, they have been linked to some of the top free agents this winter. 

Currently, the biggest need for San Francisco is in their lineup. While Juan Soto would be a great addition, him going to the Bay Area seems unlikely. However, a player like Willy Adames or Alex Bregman might be a more realistic target. Neither one of those players would be cheap, but both would instantly upgrade the lineup. 

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In addition to trying to upgrade the lineup, the Giants also saw Blake Snell decline his player option to become a free agent. Considering how good Snell was in the second half of the season, it will be interesting to see what the plan is to either bring him back or replace him. 

While San Francisco will certainly be spending this offseason, the real question will be how much the organization is willing to invest. 



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Atmospheric river storm causes minor flooding in San Francisco

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Atmospheric river storm causes minor flooding in San Francisco


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.

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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.

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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.



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San Francisco D.A. announces conviction in 2015 quadruple murder

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San Francisco D.A. announces conviction in 2015 quadruple murder


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.  

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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. 

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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.”

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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. 



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