San Francisco, CA
Monica Magtoto’s utility boxes: a healing love for San Francisco
Guerrero Street is a bustling thoroughfare for people making their way through the Mission.
For artist Monica Magtoto it’s an ideal stretch of road to showcase her art.
Magtoto’s work is featured on ten sidewalk utility boxes, seven of which are on the corner of Guerrero, between 14th and 22nd streets. The boxes–usually painted dark green–are used by the city to house electrical equipment for regulating traffic.
“You get people who are crossing through the neighborhood to go more to the Mission side,” Magtoto said. “You get people who are crossing back over to go more towards the Dolores, Noe Valley, Castro side. So, for me, it’s the perfect location.”
Her other three boxes are on Dolores Street, on the corner of 14th and 15th Streets, and on Folsom, on the corner of 14th.
Magtoto is also a yoga instructor and an energy worker. In the latter capacity, she incorporates “reiki, curanderismo, somatic work and other energy work and spiritual modalities.” She painted each of her utility boxes black before layering on images such as hearts, butterflies, candles, suns, moons, flowers, and skulls in vibrant red, yellow, and white.
Each box has a unique design but all have a unifying theme: healing.
“Our city’s been through a lot, and for me, this set of paintings was a little bit of a love letter — like, ‘If I could heal the spirit of the city, this is where I would start,’” she said.
Magtoto is one of the artists selected for the “Paint the City” project backed by two San Francisco-based nonprofits, Paint the Void and the Civic Joy Fund.
The project’s first round includes 24 artists and 241 city utility boxes, 39 of them in the Mission.
Other Paint the City utility boxes in the Mission feature Jane Kang’s Korean-themed murals on Dolores and Church streets, native birds by Claudio Talavera-Ballón and various colorful illustrations, including renderings of city fixtures such as Sutro Tower and the Roxie Theater, by Shirley Lee.
Magtoto, a fourth-generation San Franciscan, said she draws inspiration from her multicultural background which includes Filipino, Mexican, Irish, and Cape Verdean family members, as well as from her connection to the city and its diverse community.
“Like a lot of people in San Francisco, my family was adjacent to the Catholic Church, but my mom was more like, ‘Get the basics and then develop your own way of being with nature and with spirit,’” she said.
As an energy healer, she said, she’s interested in the connection between the physical and the spiritual, and carries that over into her art.
“How we exist in our bodies and how we can attack things from both angles — that intersection is really important to me,” she said.
On one utility box, on the corner of Guerrero and 15th Streets, Magtoto painted a rendering of the Three of Swords tarot card, with white-outlined swords piercing a bright red heart.
“That card is about healing and about removing the swords one by one. So if you find yourself with those three swords in your heart, you can’t really move. Any way you move, it hurts, so you pull each out, one at a time, and deal with it,” she explained.
Magtoto appreciates the attention her boxes get from passers-by. People say, “‘Oh, I saw you painting on Guerrero!’ It’s not often I get to paint and just do my own thing, too. So having this be really authentically me and having people resonate with that and recognize [my work] has been a really high point for me.”
Best of all, perhaps, family members are delighted.
“My family getting to see my work and sending me photos that they’re taking in front of the boxes when doing errands or going out to dinner — that’s the dream, right?”
San Francisco, CA
50 Beagles Rescued From Wisconsin Lab Arrive in Bay Area, SF Activist Faces Felony Charges
Animal rescue groups persuaded a Wisconsin breeding lab to sell 1,500 beagles after activists worked for a decade to free them, and 50 of the dogs arrived in the Bay Area Sunday. Meanwhile, an SF activist faces 12 years in prison for rescuing some of them prior to the deal.
Last month, several animal rights activists attempted to free 1,500 beagles at Wisconsin-based Ridglan Farms, the second-largest breeder of beagles for laboratories in the US, as KGO reported last week. Four activists, including Dean Guzman Wyrzykowski of San Francisco, were arrested during the rescue operation and charged with felonies, with up to 12 years in prison, according to a post by Wyrzykowski on social media.
“There are thousands of dogs just like her in laboratories across the country,” says Wyrzykowski, while holding the dog he’s accused of stealing.
Last week, animal rights group Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which is based in Florida, and DC-based Center for a Humane Economy made a confidential agreement with the lab to purchase the animals to be adopted out by rescue groups. Per KGO, well-known Berkeley activist Zoe Rosenberg, who brought one beagle named Chester home with her, was among the volunteers helping the dogs in Wisconsin after they were rescued.
As KGO reports, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group brought 50 beagles to the Bay Area via school bus Sunday, and they’ll be adopting them out to homes in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and nearby cities once they’ve received veterinary care.
The dogs had likely never touched grass until after leaving the lab, and they’ve been slowly acclimating to their new lives. Some were reportedly malnourished and most had bad teeth and were in need of dental work.
“It was very emotional,” says Wendy Lansdon, a volunteer with Northern California Beagle Rescue, speaking to KGO about when the bus full of dogs first arrived in the Bay Area. “Some of them were really quiet when we got in there, some of them were happy, and the other ones were terrified.”
Prior to the dogs’ arrival, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group announced on social media it was seeking foster home volunteers in Fremont, San Jose, and Sacramento — near where the beagles will be receiving veterinary care. The group is also requesting donations to help fund the dogs’ vet care.
According to the site Save the Dogs, activists had been pushing for the closure of Ridglan Farms for almost 10 years, as investigators, whistleblowers, veterinarians, and others worked to spread the word about the inhumane conditions of the lab, which stayed in operation for decades, despite being hit with hundreds of state-level cruelty violations.
“The dogs born there were treated as inventory: bred, confined, sold to research, disposed of,” says Save the Dogs.
Save the Dogs notes that activists are now targeting Marshall BioResources, the largest breeder of dogs for laboratories in the country, which has operations in New York and the United Kingdom.
Image: Northern California Beagle Rescue/Facebook
Division-leading Dodgers aim to snap home losing trend as they open series against the Giants in a matchup of NL West foes
After dropping their second straight home series over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers head into Monday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants sitting atop the National League West Division standings, aiming to avenge a series loss to the Giants from two weeks ago. San Francisco has lost nine of its last 12 games overall and have dropped seven in a row on the road as they begin a 10-game road trip that will keep them away from home until Memorial Day Weekend. The Giants will start Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA) in his fourth start in the Majors while the Dodgers will counter with second-year Japanese import Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA) who has given up a home run in five consecutive outings.
How to Watch San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers:
Date: May 11, 2026
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel: MLB Network
Location: Dodgers Stadium
Live Stream the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
Dodger center fielder Andy Pages, who has helped Los Angeles claim World Series titles in each of his first two years in the Majors, leads the team this season hitting .333, ranking the 25-year-old Cuban third among all hitters in MLB. Pages is hitting .371 so far in May with five extra base hits and 10 RBIs and has successfully reached base in 13 of his last 14 games.
With nine hits in seven games so far this month, Giants second baseman Luis Arraez is hitting a team-leading .310 at the plate in 2026 and is on pace for his eighth career 100-hit campaign. Arraez is one of only two active players with a career batting average above .300, hitting .316 for his career and leads Houston’s Jose Altuve by 15 points.
What time is Giants vs Dodgers?
Coverage of the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers starts Monday, May 11, at 10:00 p.m ET. Tune in to see if the Dodgers can beat the Giants for the fifth time in the last six games at Dodger Stadium or if San Francisco can beat LA for the fourth time in the last five head-to-head matchups.
What channel is the Giants vs Dodgers game on?
Looking to watch the game? Subscribers can tune to MLB Network to catch the action. Make sure you subscribe to Fubo now to watch this matchup at home or on the go with the Fubo TV app.
Watch the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
Regional restrictions may apply.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the McCoven who hopefully have better things to do than watch this dreadful baseball team. But if this is your chosen way of spending the day, then welcome, and may the Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the series for you.
Right-hander Tyler Mahle takes the mound for the Giants, as the veteran makes his eighth start of the year. He’s 1-4 on the season, with a 5.00 ERA, a 4.91 FIP, and 34 strikeouts to 18 walks in 36 innings. He was very strong his last time out, pitching 5.1 shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the Pirates, it’s right-hander Bubba Chandler, a 23-year old in his second season. In seven starts this year, Chandler is 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA, a 5.60 FIP, and 31 strikeouts to 26 walks in 34 innings. Chandler gave up two runs in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his last game. He has issued the most walks in the Major Leagues, so he’s probably foaming at the mouth to face the Giants, who apparently believe that drawing walks is a sin on par with murder.
Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Giants! Go moms!
Who: San Francisco Giants (15-24) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-18)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
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