San Francisco, CA
San Francisco archbishop questions ballot mandating identifying pro-life pregnancy centers
NEW YORK – Ahead of polls opening next month, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco is asking the local faithful “why would anyone want to stigmatize a primary health care facility and a pregnancy resource center that gives pregnant women support for having their babies?”
The question pertains to a San Francisco ballot measure, Proposition O, that Cordileone argues would do just that, and for that reason, is urging the faithful to reject it. In part, the measure would require signs placed outside of pregnancy resource centers that do not offer abortions, or refer for abortions.
Cordileone, in a recent video message, highlighted the double standard of the proposal.
“Why doesn’t Proposition O require the city to install signage outside facilities that do abortions to direct women to places where they will be supported in giving birth?” Cordileone asked. “Why doesn’t it require such facilities to post the same signage announcing that they do not provide the full range of reproductive rights because they only provide abortion and contraception and do not offer life affirming alternatives? Do the authors truly believe in choice?”
Proposition O, or the San Francisco Reproductive Freedom Act, essentially reiterates many of the abortion laws that already exist in California to bring them to a local level, while adding the piece about the signage and a website that will be maintained by the Department of Public Health (DPH).
The website would list pregnancy service centers in the city that provide or offer referrals for abortions or emergency contraception, as well as “limited service pregnancy centers,” which are those that do not. The latter will also have the signs installed outside of the facility.
“DPH may install signage outside of limited services pregnancy centers in the City to inform the public that those facilities do not provide or offer referrals for abortions or emergency contraception, and to provide information about where those services may be available,” the measure’s text states. “DPH may prioritize installing such signage in geographic areas of the City where there is a greater need for abortion or emergency contraception services.”
According to the legal text, DPH would provide so-called limited service pregnancy centers at least 30 days’ written notice before installing the signage. The facility or owner of the premises can file a petition with the Director of Public Health to prevent the signage, however the director’s decision will be final.
In a proponent’s statement for the measure, San Francisco May London Breed said that it “ensures that everyone in our city has the autonomy to make decisions about their reproductive health.”
“Passing Prop O is not just about preserving rights; it’s about protecting lives,” Breed said. “Comprehensive reproductive care leads to healthier families and communities. Prop O ensures that women and all people who can become pregnant are not forced into dangerous or untenable situations.”
Conversely, Cordileone argues in his Oct. 3 video message if it becomes law, Proposition O would endanger the employees, volunteers, patients, and clients of life-affirming state licensed health clinics “because by singling out facilities that refuse to perform abortions, it potentially opens them up to abusive behavior by opponents.”
“This flies in the face of the measure’s language that states ‘People in San Francisco should always be able to access reproductive health care services free from coercion, threat, violence, or fear’,” Cordileone said, also noting that having babies is something that falls under reproductive health care.
“Both organizations targeted by Proposition O help women, children, and the entire family without regard to ability to pay. Both are licensed medical facilities,” Cordileone said. “If we want to create a civil society we must affirm across the board support for human life. That means alternatives to abortion and euthanasia, repealing the death penalty, and working to end all racial and ethnic discrimination.”
“I urge you to vote no on Proposition O,” the archbishop concluded.
Follow John Lavenburg on X: @johnlavenburg
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced multiple hate crime charges, as well as assault and vandalism charges against an Oakland man for an incident that happened in the Castro District last month.
On Thursday afternoon, Hans Haken pleaded not guilty to one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, one count of vandalism, one count of hit-and-run, and one count of reckless driving.
Prosecutors also allege each of the felony assault counts was a hate crime.
“In San Francisco, we have zero tolerance for any hate, hateful acts, certainly that cross the criminal line, and we will do everything that we can to protect our residents from these types of incidents,” said Jenkins at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
It was on May 16, around 5:30 p.m., when prosecutors say Haken spray-painted a homophobic slur on the wall next to Chartreuse by Roje, a gay-owned floral boutique in San Francisco’s Castro District.
“It was a reminder that even though we’re here in Castro, San Francisco, we live in this well-protected bubble that we have created very passionately and strongly, that that can still happen,” said Jeffrey Dumlao, the owner of Chartreuse by Roje. “If anything, that is what’s scary, that it happened here in broad daylight of all times.”
Dumlao says his store had already closed by that time, but Justin Donnelly, who lives above the store, heard the spray-painting and came down to confront the man and tell him to stop.
“He just became very agitated,” Donnelly said. “I tried to remain calm and just tell him, like, sir, you know, I don’t, I don’t, I’m not involved in any of that. I’m just, I live here, right, and this is, this is my home, and you know, this is vandalism.”
Donnelly says when he took a picture of Haken’s license plate, Haken got in the car and tried to run him over. Then, prosecutors say he got out of the car and punched Donnelly in the jaw while uttering homophobic slurs.
“I’m definitely doing a lot better than I was. It’s been, I don’t know, a month or so,” Donnelly said.
He says the incident has shaken him, but he’s been lifted up by the community’s support and law enforcement.
“A lot of people have said, ‘oh my god, I can’t believe something like this could happen in San Francisco, of all places.’ And the fact is that something like this can happen anywhere, but in San Francisco, we don’t stand for it, and we deal with it, so, so that makes me feel good,” Donnelly said.
In announcing the charges, Jenkins pointed out the climate in this country has become more hostile to the LGBTQ community. She says that makes it even more important for elected officials to protect that community, just like they do every other community.
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San Francisco, CA
Artwork quilt unveiled at San Francisco dirt alley that was mistakenly bought at auction
In the fall of 2025, CBS News Bay Area first brought you the story of a Sunset couple that had the winning bid for a piece of property next to their home. They thought they were getting the duplex next door. Instead, they got a small patch of land known as Dirt Alley.
This story has many chapters, but it ended with a community celebration.
The final chapter in the story of Dirt Alley was written Wednesday night as they unveiled the tiles of artwork on the pavement.
“I’m very happy today,” JJ Hollingsworth said. “It’s just amazing that these artists that I’ve been working with and sold the alley to have come through with this incredible art.”
JJ Hollingsworth was the original property owner. She took out $25,000 from her retirement to pay for this parcel in a city auction. She thought she got a bargain for the duplex next door. When she found out it was actually the alley, the stress led to health problems and a lot of anxiety.
“I’m trying to forget, but I caused all this,” she said. “That’s what happened. I caused all this.”
Then came an email that would help her get out of the Dirt Alley nightmare. A group of friends from San Francisco was interested in buying this 82-foot-long alley.
“I know she was really stressed out when she first bought this and kind of didn’t know what she was going to do with it,” Theo Bleier said. “It’s really lucky. We were going to buy a different parcel, and we lost the auction. It was more than we wanted to spend. We felt really lucky the coincidence worked out, and we were able to help out JJ.”
The new owners then had the idea of laying an artwork quilt on the pavement and took submissions online.
“I think we had about one million people visit the website at least,” owner Patrick Hultquist said. “1.2 million, I think is the number of people that visited the website.”
The tiles with the most votes made it onto what is now called Notion way.
“Now, it’s not an official name of the street. It’s an unofficial name, but we did get an official-looking sign,” he said.
JJ Hollingsworth, who is a music composer, wrote a ballad called Notion Way for the special occasion. What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.
“It’s really beautiful,” neighbors Tom Goslinga & Nesha Niezrecki said. “It’s how culture gets created in a lot of ways. People kind of being creative with an interesting situation. It’s really cool.”
While Hollingsworth is grateful for how this story ended, she says she learned a valuable lesson from this whole experience.
“Read the fine print and ask a lot of questions,” she said.
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