San Francisco, CA
San Francisco reacts to Alcatraz visit by Trump administration officials
SAN FRANCISCO – Alcatraz is one of San Francisco’s biggest sightseeing attractions, but on Thursday two members of the Trump administration toured the former federal prison, indicating they were on a mission to follow through on President Trump’s proposal to reopen the site as a prison.
Back to ‘law and order’?
What they’re saying:
“I like the symbolism, the message that it sends, one that America is going to go back to a country of law and order,” John Dennis, the California Republican Party Chair of Chairs said.
On Thursday, crowds of tourists boarded the ferries to visit the island where the infamous former federal prison stood until it closed in 1963.
“It was interesting. I’ve always been curious, so it answered a lot of questions,” Ross Schoenharr, a tourist from Detroit said, after taking a tour of the island.
Those who saw the aging infrastructure said they were surprised that Attorney General Pam Bondi And Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum were on the island earlier in the day. Bondi and Burgum toured the site, on a mission to look into President Trump’s proposal to revert it back to a federal prison.
Cost of restoration -taxpayer money
Some say it could take hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the facility, due to the fact Alcatraz is about 1.5 miles from shore and needs to have supplies brought by boat.
“It did close down for a reason because it wasn’t economically sound, and it wasn’t a good proposition, so I think it should be left alone,” Judy Park, a tourist from Carlsbad, said.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and others say reopening a prison there would be a loss of revenue and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“Tourists come from all over the world to visit Alcatraz, over 100 million visitors, tens of million in economic activity to the city and the region,” Lurie said.
“I don’t like the idea of spending all the money that you need to spend to make it into a prison,” former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown said.
“The revenue that it generates is so much needed, especially at this time,” Claudine Cheng of San Francisco said.
Historic and sacred ground
Alcatraz island also holds historic and sacred meaning for some Bay Area indigenous people, who staged a 1969 protest there to reclaim the land and have held annual ceremonies ever since to honor their ancestors.
Redbird Willie of Sebastopol was a child during the protest, and traces his ancestry to the Pomo, Wailaki, Wintu and Paiute tribes.
“I feel like we’ve been spending all this time since then trying to heal that place and trying, trying to make it a good place…having that gathering out there and Thanksgiving and on Indigenous Peoples Day,” Willie said.
Trolling SF
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman says he thinks the Trump administration is trying to create a distraction.
“They’re making a lot of noise. They’re excellent at trolling us. They want us to be chasing after every crazy idea they throw out there. This is a crazy idea. I don’t think we should be chasing after it until we know it’s real,” Mandelman said.
Dennis says while some Republicans might agree on the Alcatraz prison site in principle, there might be resistance due to the cost.
“Republicans that have been a little loose on spending might come around and say hey, ‘We got to do something about this’, so that ultimately might be the hangup on it. But again, I like the idea of doing it because it sends a message that we’re serious about crime and law and order,” Dennis said.
The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball this season, prompting the front office to explore operating as sellers this summer. Amid a flurry of MLB trade rumors this week about a potential firesale, there is now more buzz regarding the future of Matt Chapman with the team.
MLB insider Robert Murray spoke to executives around the league who said that Chapman is “the most appealing” trade target of the group that also includes Rafael Devers and Willy Adames.
Matt Chapman Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman contract (Spotrac): $25.166 million AAV (2026-2030)
It’s no surprise that Chapman is the most coveted player among the highly-paid trio. He is a Gold Glove Award winner at third base who can still provide well above-average fielding at the hot corner as a 33-year-old. On top of that, he is also outproduced Adames by a wide margin this season and offers far greater positional value than Devers.
However, there is a complicating factor. Chapman has played 10 seasons in the majors and has a full no-trade clause. He also made it clear to reporters this week that he prefers to remain in San Francisco, especially since he is a California native.
Rafael Devers Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman stats (2026): .252/.337/.400, .737 OPS, 7 home runs, 41 RBI in 309 plate appearances
As a result, per Murray, San Francisco is not expected to move him this offseason. That makes it even more likely that the club’s highest-paid players remain with the team for the remainder of the season, with president of baseball operations Buster Posey expected to pursue alternative options.
More than likely, the Giants will instead be trading the likes of Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, and Luis Arraez. All three veterans are on expiring contracts, so San Francisco will attempt to get whatever it can for them on the trade market next month.
Willy Adames Trade Landing Spots
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco hotels see steady World Cup business, but fall short of Super Bowl surge
Bay Area bars and restaurants are packed for World Cup watch parties this week, but San Francisco hotels are not seeing the same sell-out crowds experienced during the Super Bowl earlier this year.
While the Super Bowl brought a concentrated week of events that sent hotel prices soaring into the thousands, the World Cup spans more than a month. The extended timeline has resulted in a slower, steadier trickle of out-of-town soccer fans booking rooms.
The Bay Area has several exciting matches on the schedule at Levi’s Stadium, but none feature top-seeded teams or the mega-star power seen when “Messi mania” previously swept the region.
“We knew we weren’t going to get any of the first-place teams. We weren’t going to get Brazil, or Germany, or any of the teams carrying big fan bases — Messi, Ronaldo,” said Alex Bastian, CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco. “But that being said, this is still such a great thing, because people are coming here from around the world.”
Bastian noted that the city’s hospitality industry is still in a strong position for the summer.
“We have a great convention calendar for the month of June, and because we were prepared, we’re doing much better compared to our colleagues across the country,” he said.
A significant surge in hotel bookings could still happen if Levi’s Stadium secures a match featuring Team USA. That possibility grew stronger following the U.S. team’s 2-0 win over Australia on Friday.
“I’m really excited about Team USA. I’m USA all the way,” Bastian added. “I’m hopeful that when that game is played here, the world will come check out San Francisco as well.”
The San Francisco Giants are headed even farther south today as they begin a weekend road series against the Miami Marlins.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be noted bigot Landen Roupp. Roupp enters today’s game with a 4.24 ERA, 2.96 FIP, with 82 strikeouts to 32 walks in 74.1 innings pitched. His last start was in Friday night’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, in which Roupp clearly cared more about proselytizing than he did about winning, allowing four runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in four and two thirds innings.
As of the time this is being written on Thursday, the Marlins have not announced a starting pitcher for today’s game and I am off today (Happy Juneteenth!). But you can head on down to the comments for the most up to date information.
Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins
Where: loanDepot park, Miami, Florida
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
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