San Francisco, CA
Riders can climb ‘halfway to the stars’ on San Francisco cable car dedicated to late Tony Bennett
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A cable car recently dedicated to the late Tony Bennett rolls past the landmark Fairmont hotel where the singer in 1961 first performed the song that would forever tie him to San Francisco.
San Francisco officials on Valentine’s Day dedicated one of the city’s iconic cable cars to Bennett, whose “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” included a line about “the city where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.” He died at age 96 last summer.
The song was an enormous hit and Bennett returned to the city often, even appearing with the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein when she was mayor to toast the rebuild of the cable system in 1984. His statue is on the front lawn of the Fairmont San Francisco and a short street by the hotel is named for him.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has 42 cable cars of which four are dedicated to individuals, including baseball’s former center fielder Willie Mays, says Arne Hansen, superintendent of cable car vehicle maintenance.
“Some people specifically wait for this car because they want to ride the Tony Bennett cable car just like they want to ride the Willie Mays car, which is Car 24,” he said.
Car 53, built in 1907, was in the process of being restored after an accident when the idea came up to dedicate the car to Bennett. It is shiny red with blue and and white trim and features plaques explaining the singer’s connection to San Francisco.
Also unique to the car, the traditional “ribbons” on both ends say “Halfway to the Stars, Since 1873,” referencing a lyric and the year the city’s cable car system was born. Regular cable cars have ribbons listing names of the streets on their routes.
The car also gives a nod to the song’s writers, George Cory and Douglass Cross, who had moved to Brooklyn and were nostalgic for San Francisco. The song received little attention until Bennett came along.
As Bennett’s cable car pulled out of the barn — where cable cars sleep at night — and into Chinatown on Thursday, a group of children on the sidewalk yelled, “Ring the bell.”
The Bennett route is not just for tourists, but also takes people to work and to grocery markets, while treating them to a view of the Fairmont.
Here is a list of events this week.
- Monday/tonight! Introduction to E-Bikes. This is a San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, SFMTA/SFCTA-sponsored virtual class. Monday/tonight, December 15, 6-7 p.m. Register for Zoom link.
- Tuesday Bike It Forward Community Repair Night. Join the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition as they rehabilitate donated and abandoned bicycles and get them to folks who need them. Tuesday, December 16, 5-7 p.m. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, 1720 Market Street, S.F.
- Wednesday Car-Free Happy Hour. This event is open to everyone, whether they’re car free, car light, car-free curious, or they just want to hang out with fellow urbanists. Wednesday, December 17, 5:30-7 p.m. Cornerstone Berkeley, 2367 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley.
- Thursday Vision Zero Committee Meeting. This committee supports the work of improving street safety in San Francisco. Thursday, December 18, 1 p.m. Union Square Conference Room, Floor 7, SFMTA Headquarters, 1 South Van Ness Avenue, S.F.
- Thursday Transform Happy Hour with the New Executive Director. Come meet Transform’s new leadership, mingle with like-minded folks, and give your input for Transform’s next chapter. Thursday, December 18, 5:30-8 p.m. Line 51 Brewing Company, 303 Castro Street, Oakland.
- Friday Alameda Holiday Lights Ride and Christmas Caroling. Ride to see the holiday lights in Alameda. Friday, December 19, 6:30 p.m. meet, 7 p.m. roll out. Finishes at 10 p.m. MacArthur BART, 555 40th Street, Oakland.
Got an event we should know about? Drop us a line.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco honors legendary photographer Jim Marshall with street named in his memory
This week, San Francisco is set to honor a legendary photographer, the late Jim Marshall, by officially commemorating a street in his honor.
On Friday, officials, including San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, will be on hand to reveal a new street sign for the 3600 block of 16th Avenue.
The tiny stretch becomes a big landmark for music lovers, historians, and photography buffs. This stretch of 16th will also be known as Jim Marshall Way.
“Finally, Jim Marshall gets his name in San Francisco history, ” proclaimed photographer Amelia Davis.
For years, Davis was the assistant and editor for Marshall.
Marshall documented and photographed San Francisco history – the music scene, social unrest and protests
Included in his portfolio is a rare photograph of Janis Joplin on top of her psychedelic Porsche, a famous portrait of John Coltrane, discussing an imminent change in his music, at the Berkeley home of jazz critic Ralph Gleason; a very intimate photo of Johnny Cash and June Carter, at their home in Tennessee; Miles Davis in the boxing ring; Bob Dylan kicking a tire down a New York City street; and the final public concert played by the Beatles at Candlestick Park.
Fifteen years ago, when he died, the San Franciscan left his entire portfolio to Davis. She explained how Marshall, who was childless, called his photographs his children.
“That’s what he loved and protected his whole life,” noted Davis.
Marshall was on hand to capture the Grateful Dead’s last free show on a flatbed truck in the Haight.
He was also on hand in Times Square in Manhattan to capture the grief following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
His photographs of poverty in Appalachia are part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian.
“Jim Marshall always called himself a reporter with a camera and Jim’s work did document pieces of history, whether it was music, civil rights, or protests,” said Davis.
Marshal had a tumultuous personality and struggled with addiction.
After his death, he was the subject of an award-winning documentary called “Show Me The Picture.”
He was the first photographer to receive a Grammy.
Now, a street where the photographer lived for 28 years will be named in honor
“Little did they know you have this legend living right in the middle of the street here,” exclaimed Justin Fichelson.
Fichelson grew up a few doors away from the photographer, where his parents still live.
He says the honor of renaming the street is a reminder that the city was iconoclastic way before tech and the AI flood.
“The idea of San Francisco, which is a crazy place where people come from all over the world to reinvent themselves, Jim really captured that in an incredible way,” noted Fichelson.
Marshall grew up in the Western Addition, went to Lowell High School, raced fast cars and loved the city. Now, the city is loving him back.
The ceremony to honor Marshall is on Friday, Dec. 19, at 10 a.m. at the corners of Noe, Market, and 16th. A commemorative sign will be placed beneath the 16th Street sign. Those who wish to attend are asked to bring any old Leica cameras to honor the late photographer.
San Francisco, CA
Oakland Airport’s ‘San Francisco’ rebrand has failed to reverse plunging passenger numbers
The controversy over the Oakland airport’s addition of San Franisco to its name brought headlines, but not travelers, even during the typically frenzied holiday season.
Passenger traffic at OAK (now officially known as Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport) dropped steeply over the past year, even as air travel nationwide held steady and its rival to the west seeing record numbers.
The naming controversy generated publicity and a tiff with San Francisco International Airport, but not the desired increase in traffic. In the 12 months through September 2025, approximately 8.2 million people passed through OAK for domestic flights — 1.8 million, or 17%, fewer than in the previous year, according to federal data (opens in new tab). Passenger traffic was down 15.5% (opens in new tab) in the first three quarters of 2025.
International travel showed a bump, but with limited routes to only Mexico and El Salvador.
The drop at OAK is happening as domestic travel around the country has remained flat, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (opens in new tab).
In fact, Oakland’s decline in the first half of 2025 was the worst of all 93 major U.S. airports, according to LocalsInsider.com (opens in new tab). The second-sharpest drop was at Chicago’s Midway, which was 12.9% off from the previous year.
The decline in passengers isn’t tied to fewer flights being offered. OAK data shows just 56 fewer so-called “airplane movements” through September compared with last year, a negligible 0.03% decrease out of more than 153,000 flights.
Why the dropoff?
The Port of Oakland, which operates the airport, says people aren’t traveling for work anymore.
“Like all of the industry, the decline at OAK can be attributed to the decline in business travel,” said Kaley Skantz, a port spokesperson.
But Collin Czarnecki, who leads Locals Insider’s research on airlines, ties the troubles to a larger industry trend: the death of the middle-class airport.
“Overall, the ‘why’ is sort of this bigger picture,” he said. “Secondary hubs and midsize airports are seeing a lot of change with low-cost carriers.”
Despite the declines, OAK is moving forward with a major makeover and adding 16 gates because of a previous forecast (opens in new tab) that annual passenger levels would reach 24.7 million in 2038. Current traffic has yet to match 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, for San Francisco’s airport, the outlook is sunny.
With its nonstop flights to the East Coast, Europe, and Asia, SFO is in a different class. The airport showed 5.1% growth in 2025 from 43.5 million to 45.7 million passengers, according to its own data (opens in new tab). SFO also boasted that it had its busiest Thanksgiving travel season on record. OAK officials said they lacked the daily data to analyze Thanksgiving traffic.
SFO representatives attribute the gains to the airport’s mix of domestic and international flights and business and leisure travelers.
“Drilling down further, the diversity of our international service is a real advantage, as our fortunes aren’t tied strictly to the performance of one specific market,” SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said.
Business owners near OAK say they don’t get much lift from their proximity to the travel hub. Alan Liang, who owns a Mexican restaurant, a burger joint, a towing company, and an auto repair shop in a plaza along Hegenberger Road, said about 95% of his customers are blue-collar workers with jobs nearby.
“I never came across anyone who said, ‘I’m here in town and came to get a bite,’” said Liang. Crime has scared away customers and led to the closure of chain restaurants like In-N-Out Burger, Black Bear Diner, and Denny’s.
“A few decades ago, Hegenberger primarily benefited from the traffic flow from the airport,” he said. “It’s extremely hard for me to believe that today.”
The fortunes of Oakland’s airport are intertwined with the popularity of Southwest Airlines, which accounts for 83.3% of OAK’s passengers, according to federal statistics. Spirit Airlines had been the airport’s second-largest carrier, with nearly 6% of travelers, but the company in October pulled out of Oakland (opens in new tab), as well as San Jose.
To stabilize its position and grow, OAK should strive to become a hub for a major airline like Delta or American, according to Linchi Kwok, a Cal Poly Pomona professor who specializes in travel and tourism.
“It would bring a lot more traffic and draw customers who are loyal to the airline,” said Kwok. “Everyone can benefit from healthy competition.”
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