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San Francisco ready to grant new mayor greater powers to battle fentanyl crisis

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San Francisco ready to grant new mayor greater powers to battle fentanyl crisis


Demostrators gather at a rally at City Hall to support legislation that gives the mayors extra power to address the city’s fentanyl crisis Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in San Francisco.Terry Chea/AP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is poised to grant newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie greater powers and flexibility to expedite the city’s response to a fentanyl crisis that has turned sidewalks into open-air dens of drug consumption and homelessness.

The legislation, which supervisors will vote on Tuesday, eliminates competitive bidding requirements for some contracts and allows the administration to solicit private donations to quickly add 1,500 shelter beds and hire more public safety and behavioral health specialists. It is the first piece of legislation for Lurie, a Levi Strauss heir and anti-poverty nonprofit founder who had never held elective office until he squashed Mayor London Breed’s reelection bid last year.

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The proposal already has the six votes needed to pass, and will likely pick up more votes Tuesday.

The 11-member board relinquishing oversight powers for an effort with no concrete plan or metrics underscores how desperate supervisors are for a solution. It also signals their embrace — for now — of a political outsider who pledged to work collaboratively to create common sense solutions.

Supervisor Connie Chan said last week at the budget and finance committee she chairs that board oversight helps ensure taxpayer money is spent judiciously and transparently. But she also said this is “truly an unprecedented time” that calls for unusual measures, and she appreciated the mayor’s willingness to compromise. Breed had a frosty relationship with the board’s progressive members, Chan included.

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San Francisco has long been known for its liberal politics, but homeless tent encampments and public drug use surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overdose deaths fueled by cheap and potent fentanyl reached a record high in San Francisco of over 800 in 2023.

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In response, frustrated residents voted to enhance police powers and backed crackdowns on street homelessness. They also elected more moderate Democrats to the board.

Lurie’s proposal would allow the city to bypass the competitive bidding and procurement process for contracts, grants and leases related to addiction, homelessness and public safety hiring. City departments could sign new leases without board approval. He wants to open a 24-hour drop-off center that would be friendly to police and an alternative to jail.

Supervisors would have only 45 days to vote on contracts up to $25 million — down from the original $50 million proposed by the mayor — or relinquish their oversight. Expedited contracting would sunset in one year, down from the original five.

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San Francisco AIDS Foundation opposes the proposal because it lacks metrics and details, such as how it would actually reduce fentanyl use, said Laura Thomas, the nonprofit’s drug policy expert and senior director of HIV & harm reduction policy.

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She applauds the mayor’s desire for more housing and treatment services but hopes he will not endorse policies forcing people into treatment, which has shown to be ineffective and often counterproductive.

“We want to know more about what the proposal is,” Thomas said Monday. “We’re raising notes of concern and we want to know more information before we can support it.”

At Wednesday’s budget and finance committee, legislative analyst Nicolas Menard warned that waiving competitive bids would likely increase service costs and “create opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse.” The fiscal impact is unknown, but the grants and contracts budget for the affected city departments totals just over $1 billion.

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“I need to be very clear that you’re giving up a lot here,” he said.

Still, it passed out of committee to the full board with a unanimous recommendation and in a statement released later that day, Lurie said that with the ordinance “we are no longer looking the other way — we are treating the fentanyl crisis like the emergency it is,” he said. “This is a new era in City Hall.”



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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco premiere for opera based on Journey to the West

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San Francisco premiere for opera based on Journey to the West


Huang Ruo watched his kids on Halloween during the coronavirus pandemic, his son dressed as Spider-Man and Batman, his daughter as Elsa from Frozen.

“I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to have a superhero figure from Asia so all these kids could have something from that part of the world to wear, to look up to?” the composer said.

He decided to write The Monkey King, based on an episode from the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West in which a primate born from stone acquires supernatural powers and seeks immortality.

The work, with singing in English and Mandarin, will be given its world premiere by the San Francisco Opera on November 14.

Composer Huang Ruo, whose The Monkey King will premiere at the San Francisco Opera on November 14. Photo: Wenjun Miakoda Liang/San Francisco Opera via AP
David Henry Hwang wrote the libretto for The Monkey King. Photo: Gregory Costanzo
David Henry Hwang wrote the libretto for The Monkey King. Photo: Gregory Costanzo
San Francisco Opera general director Matthew Shilvock issued the commission following the success of another work by a Chinese composer, Bright Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber, which the company premiered in 2016.



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7 Notable Bay Area Restaurant Openings to Know This February

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7 Notable Bay Area Restaurant Openings to Know This February


This is a list of the Bay Area’s most notable restaurant and bar openings, with new updates published once a week. Did we miss something great? Please, drop us a line.


February 6

NOB HILL — A titanic restaurant from Bay Area celebrities is set to open Friday, March 7. Meski comes from trio Draymond Green of Warriors dominance, Sobre Mesa chef Nelson German, and Meskie’s Kitchen and Garden restaurateur Guma Fassil. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the menu will blend Caribbean, Dominican, and Ethiopian foodways.

JACKSON SQUARE — Once upon a time Cassava was an Outer Richmond mainstay, then it was a Columbus Avenue powerbroker. With no less glitter or panache, the upscale Japanese restaurant has migrated to Battery Street as a konbini operation. Chef Kris Toliao and partner Yuka Ioroi are serving Japanese breakfast fare including sandwiches on milk bread provided by Andersen Bakery.

MARINA — The longtime go-to for porterhouse and martinis Izzy’s Steaks & Chops will return to Chestnut Street on Wednesday, February 12. Per the San Francisco Chronicle, chef Daniel Lucero is in-house zhushing up the menu alongside the posh remodel that closed the restaurant in fall 2023.

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OAKLAND — Alameda Vietnamese go-to Bacogai just opened a sister location. Mon Superette on Piedmont Avenue serves take-away favorites including fresh rolls and crab cake sandwiches. The San Francisco Chronicle spotted the opening.

BERKELEY — On President’s Day weekend, the East Bay’s Homemade Cafe will rise from the ashes. Chef-owner Collin Doran told East Bay Nosh his neighbor — and fan of the restaurant — Rohit Singh stepped in to back the restaurant’s bills. Fans should expect a more fast-casual counter-service approach with a somewhat reduced menu.

BELMONT — Newcomer Amara debuted in late January from power couple Ajay Walia and Reena Miglani; The pair also run Rasa and Saffron. The Mercury News reports this third outfit features ingredients and flavors from Turkey, Morocco, and Greece. Think lamb racks bedecked by herb salad and green zhoug.

TAHOE — Bowl Incline, the boujee bowling alley and hotspot for chef Sam Choy’s chops, just got an upgrade. Lane 17 Lounge will take over the floor above the business’s current restaurant Ohana Diner. The Tahoe Daily Tribune reports the hope is for the new lounge to provide a casual yet upscale experience for guests.





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San Francisco group rallies to protest evictions at homeless shelters

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San Francisco group rallies to protest evictions at homeless shelters


San Francisco prides itself on its status as a sanctuary city. But some homeless immigrants say their families are being forced out, not through deportation but by eviction.

The noon rally outside Everett Middle School in San Francisco included immigrant parents trying to raise their children while living in homeless shelters in the city.

“We’re here to demand a sensible answer to the question how does evicting working families from shelters solve anything,” said Reverand Victor Floyd, a member of a group called Faith in Action.

The city has a 90-day limit at its family homeless shelters. Then they’re served with an eviction letter and may or may not be eligible for a 30-day extension. Everett’s principal, Heidi Avelina Smith, joined the rally to urge San Francisco to live up to its “sanctuary” ideals.

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“By nature, a sanctuary is a warm, welcome, safe place to call home. A 30-day shelter policy is not a reflection of this commitment,” she said. “San Francisco is one of the most expensive places in the nation. The cost of living, and more specifically, the cost of housing is an extraordinary challenge for all. A shelter policy that offers families with children only 30 days to attempt to stabilize economically is a policy that does not acknowledge the reality of our city today.”

Bridget Early has been the school’s social worker for 17 years, and things have never been this bad.  She said 80 kids, one-fifth of her students, are homeless with 20 of them living in city shelters.

“It is shocking, and I honestly have to say it’s shameful too that, for whatever reason, we don’t take care of each other. And I think we see ourselves as separate, maybe. Or we don’t have the shared responsibility to take care of our neighbors, but we should. And we do have the resources in this city to do that.”

The city does, in fact, have the money. Eight years ago, voters approved Measure C which taxes large businesses to establish a fund to fight homelessness. Now, there is $50 million available for hotel vouchers and rental subsidies.  Supervisor Connie Chan said it’s time to act in a big way.

“We do have the capacity right now, we do have the funding now,” she said. “It’s like, what can we do to rip the bureaucracy, rip the red tape, and get them housed first. And I think if there were more families to come, we’re going to tackle it along the way.”

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That responsibility may fall on Mayor Daniel Lurie who, on Tuesday, was given more power to approve contracts to fight homelessness. Advocates are hoping that will cut though some of the bureaucracy and political bickering.  Maria Zovala just received an eviction order to move out of the shelter room she shares with her two special needs children.

“It’s inhumane,” she said. “For the responsible authorities to allow families with children and seniors to be on the street, living with uncertainty of not knowing what the current government is going to do with regards to deportations.”

The school said it’s doing what it can to help. It provides a weekly food giveaway and maintains an on-campus thrift store. And it’s experimenting with a guaranteed income program, offering one thousand dollars a month to the families of unhoused 6th graders.

“Help us raise our next generation in a safe, secure and warm environment,” said the principal. “A true sanctuary.”

It turns out that being a sanctuary city may involve more than just letting people stay. It may mean finding a space for them to live.

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