San Francisco, CA
San Francisco store requires customers to shop with employee escort to curb ‘rampant shoplifting’
A San Francisco store is no longer allowing customers to roam around and shop without being escorted by an employee in an attempt to stop “rampant shoplifting,” according to a report.
Fredericksen’s Hardware and Paint in the city’s Cow Hollow neighborhood has put up a sign announcing that during certain hours it will be taking customers only one at a time to curb the incessant thefts.
The shop is blocking off part of the store’s entrance and corralling shoppers in a waiting area until an employee is able to help them, KRON4 reported.
“Attention shoppers,” the sign reads. “Due to the rampant shoplifting, Fredericksen has introduced a one-on-one shopping experience: wait here and a clerk will be right with you to help you with all your shopping needs.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience,” the notice concludes.
The store’s longtime manager, Sam Black, told the outlet that while the move could be a nuisance to customers it was worth trying for the sake of the business and its employees.
He said the shoplifting is the worst it’s ever been in his 24 years working at the business in the Golden Gate City, which is grappling with surging crime.
The staff has even had to drill down pots and pans to keep shoplifters from snatching them. They’ve also had to lock up tools and other hardware products.
“It’s pretty bad,” Black said. “I mean, the dollar amounts are pretty significant, and with the tools and now we’re getting snatch-and-grabs when they take whole displays, so it’s getting kind of dangerous for the employees and the customers.”
The new rules are in effect for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening, Black said. A table blocks the entrance to keep thieves from entering the store unattended.
“We just want to make it uncomfortable for the thieves so they go somewhere else,” Black said.
One customer told KRON4 the situation is “just sad.”
“Yeah, people aren’t happy,” Black said. “The regulars can’t believe it like we can’t believe it, but they’ve been really understanding.”
The security experiment has been going on for three weeks now, Black said. He said the store will review the results at the end of the month.
San Francisco supervisor Catherine Stefani called the situation “embarrassing” for the city.
“This situation is tragic and embarrassing for our city, and it’s all the more reason to get serious about solving our police staffing crisis,” she told the outlet in a statement. “We need more police on our streets, and we need them now.”
Other stores in San Francisco have abandoned their self checkout lines to stop criminals.
San Francisco, CA
3 positions the San Francisco 49ers must address in the 2026 offseason
The San Francisco 49ers are at the bye week which is a good time to look back and assess where the roster. What are going to be the biggest needs on the roster as they head into the offseason in a month or two?
Wide Receiver
The 49ers need to figure out what they are going to do at wide receiver. Brandon Aiyuk has reportedly played his last down with the team. Jauan Jennings is a free agent. A few weeks ago, it was clear that the team would wish him the best, but he has played better football in recent weeks. Still, that may just price him out of the 49ers’ range.
Ricky Pearsall has been a disappointment since returning, and his injuries and lack of production through two years are now adding up. All of this is to say that wide receiver is a priority. Clearing the money from Aiyuk is huge, but that is a big hole to fill, and they do not have a player within the organization to do it.
Left Guard
The 49ers fumbled around at left guard this past offseason, and it ended up costing them. They bet on Ben Bartch, a seventh-round rookie, Connor Colby, and Spencer Burford, who spent the summer at left tackle. Of course, it is the guy who played left tackle that they are leaning on.
We have seen Burford before, and he is going to be a free agent after this year as well. Even if he plays well, the team should not be tied to him. They should not just lean on re-signing him, and they cannot assume anything from either Bartch or Colby. They have to actually do something here.
Defensive Line
Alfred Collins is starting to blossom, but he is hardly putting up anything in the stat column. Meanwhile, the rest of the group is extremely lackluster. Kalia Davis, CJ West, and Jordan Elliott are the type of players who compete for the fourth spot in a rotation, not make up the rotation. Elliott and Davis will be free agents, and the only reason they would bring either back is that they are going to return for so cheap because no one else wants them.
San Francisco was at their best with the likes of Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead, and DeForest Buckner. They need to get back to those days with a real investment at the interior defensive line position.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco supervisors approve Mayor Lurie’s ‘Family Zoning’ housing plan
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve Mayor Daniel Lurie’s controversial “Family Zoning Plan,” a proposal aimed at making it easier for developers to build taller, denser housing across the city.
The plan comes as San Francisco faces mounting pressure from the state to meet California’s housing goals. If cities fail to comply, state officials – not local leaders – will decide where new homes are built. For San Francisco, the city faces a Jan. 31 deadline to update its zoning rules to accommodate housing demand. The city also must create enough capacity for nearly 83,000 new units over the next six years to avoid state intervention.
“This is a critical step to keep San Francisco in control of what gets built in our city,” Lurie said earlier at a groundbreaking for new a affordable housing building in the SoMa neighborhood. “Too many families and young people are wondering if they’ll be able to stay in the city that they call home.”
Currently, most neighborhoods restrict mid-sized multifamily housing. Lurie’s plan would target areas like the Marina, Richmond and Sunset – districts that have seen little development in recent decades.
MORE: San Francisco mayor proposes denser housing to tackle affordability crisis
Some residents welcome the idea, citing affordability concerns.
“I just graduated out of college and trying to find a place that’s affordable is really hard,” said Sunset resident Aisha Williamson-Raun. “As long as they are affordable and make sense for what people are making, then yes. But if it’s just gonna push out people already in the community, then no.”
Supervisors debated how to balance housing capacity with affordability, with opponents criticizing that the measure does not earmark funding for the new housing units.
“This is response to state bullying disguised as results-oriented,” said Supervisor Shamann Walton. “Maybe if it included a financing package or proposal to actually build housing. Maybe if it guaranteed not to displace families and businesses…we can do better.”
MORE: Rethinking megaprojects: Will SF meet its quota of building 82,000 new housing units in 5 years?
In a statement after the board’s vote, small business owners in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood expressed concern about how the ordinance will impact rent-controlled tenants. The Small Business Forward association anticipates anywhere from 10 to 40 owners could face displacement under the new zoning plan.
“The Mayor and Board of Supervisors have paid lip service to supporting small businesses and their workers impacted by the inevitable displacements of dozens if not hundreds of businesses over the next several years. However, with no commitment to funding, there is no plan in place to support small businesses from the displacement they’ll experience from non-renewal of their lease.” said Christin Evans, co-owner of Booksmith and Alembic, co-founder and Board Member of Small Business Forward.
Supporters pushed back, arguing rejecting the ordinance would further delay necessary reforms for the city to catch up on expanding its housing capacity.+
“I reject the notion that we have to choose between building more homes and protecting renters,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter. “We can do both, and that’s what this plan does.”
The measure passed 7-4, with Supervisors Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, Shamann Walton and Jackie Fielder voting no.
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San Francisco, CA
Man found shot to death in car in San Francisco’s Tenderloin
A man was found fatally shot in a car in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood Tuesday morning, according to police.
Officers responded at 6:12 a.m. to a shooting reported in the 100 block of Turk Street and arrived to find the victim sitting in a vehicle and suffering from a gunshot wound, San Francisco police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his name was not immediately released.
Investigators have not made an arrest or released any suspect details in the case. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the SFPD tip line at (415) 575-4444 or to send a tip by text message to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.
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