Every time Mario DeMira slides behind the wheel and turns the key, he holds his breath.

“Sometimes you’ve gotta work with it, you know, give it a couple turns, pray a little bit,” DeMira said.

After a few tense moments, he’s on his way. A little clunky, but not bad for a vehicle that’s been around for 80 years. It’s a jeepney, and San Francisco’s most photographed vehicle you’ve never heard of.   

After World War II, the U.S. left military jeeps behind in the Philippines. Instead of letting them rot, locals stretched them out, hand-painted them, and turned them into one of the most beloved forms of public transportation in the country. 

And they did it in style.

“The jeepneys in the Philippines are very ornate,” DeMira said. “The drivers and Filipino people in general are loud and colorful personalities.”

Wherever this one goes, it stops traffic. People stare. They wave. They reach for their phones.

DeMira is the assistant director of SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural District, and the man behind the wheel of the last jeepney in the city. It was donated to the organization by Bay Area-based pop musician Toro y Moi after it was used in one of his music videos for a song on his 2022 album Mahal.

But even this beloved icon has hit a speed bump. Back in the Philippines, the government is putting the brakes on jeepneys, phasing them out for modern vehicles. For DeMira, it’s a road he understands, even if he doesn’t love where it leads.

“I get it,” he said. “You want to modernize. But you gotta do it in a way that still holds onto a piece of that history and that culture.”

Speaking of history, it arrived at the most inopportune moment, in the form of thick, white smoke billowing from the tailpipe, bringing the tour to an early close. For DeMira, it comes with the territory.

“Part of the charm and part of the headache,” he said.

DeMira drove the jeepney straight to the garage. He said it should be back on the road soon. Because if there’s one thing this old jeep has proven, it always finds its way back. And that’s not just blowing smoke.

To reserve a tour, visit somapilipinas.org.

About a month after reports first emerged that he was a target for Clemson in the transfer portal, San Francisco forward David Fuchs has committed to the Tigers. He will join the program, making a big step up in terms of the level of competition.

He figures to be a quality piece for coach Brad Brownell as Clemson looks to bounce back from a season that ended with a first-round NCAA Tournament exit. The Tigers went 24-11 overall and finished fourth in the ACC, but lost to Iowa in an opening-round game in the Big Dance.

Fuchs has the tools to be a force in the frontcourt. He checks in at 6-foot-9, 245 pounds.

Fuchs spent his first two seasons in college playing for Rhode Island. He was basically a full-time starter as a freshman in 2023-24, but he became a contributor off the bench the following year. That, in part, prompted his transfer.

At that point, Fuchs headed to San Francisco. He wasn’t quite a full-time starter, making 19 starts in 29 total appearances this year. But he had a significant impact. He averaged 12.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. In addition, he dished out 1.4 assists per contest and occasionally chipped in with the odd block or steal.

As he looks to round out his game with the Tigers, David Fuchs will likely look to continue improving his perimeter shooting. He has seen a year-over-year improvement in his shooting percentage from downtown in each of the last two years.

He finished the 2025-26 season for the Dons, hoisting a career-high 33 attempts. He connected on 10 of them, helping stretch the floor with a 30.3% shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

David Fuchs was really playing his best basketball toward season’s end, too. He averaged 17.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per game in two West Coast Conference tournament games, logging a double-double in each game.

He finished the year with nine double-doubles in total. And he had some monster outings individually.

He hit the 20-point scoring mark six times, including a 30-point outburst in a game against Pacific. He also turned in a 21-point, 13-rebound performance in a game against San Diego.

All in all, Clemson should be getting a pretty good piece to build around with David Fuchs. He has three years of experience under his belt heading into this venture with the Tigers.

(KRON)– San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa is asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to step up protections at ports and Airports across the country, including San Francisco International Airport (SFO), after the recent hantavirus outbreak.

The outbreak began aboard a cruise ship in May 2026.

The ship outbreak has reached 12 cases, nine of which have been confirmed. So far, three people have died.

In California, five people, including one Santa Clara County resident, are being monitored for possible exposure. Another Bay Area resident is being monitored separately in Nebraska.

In the U.S., the CDC is monitoring 41 people for Hantavirus. That includes an additional 16 who were not aboard the cruise ship where the outbreak began, but were exposed on an April flight from Johannesburg with a woman who was infected on the ship and later died.

Canepa is fighting for concrete policies that would protect Californians, specifically calling out the CDC to create a clear process when outbreaks, similar to the recent hantavirus outbreak, begin.

Along with the CDC, the World Health Organization is emphasizing that the overall risk to the public remains low. So far, there’s been no evidence of ongoing transmission.