San Francisco, CA
Seawall at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach approved by Coastal Commission
The California Coastal Commission has approved a project to build a more than 3,000-foot-long buried seawall along the southern portion of Ocean Beach in San Francisco.
Headed by San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), the project looks to protect a massive underground sewage tunnel and a nearby wastewater plant from beach erosion.
Anna Roche with SFPUC told the commission, without the seawall the tunnel could be severely damaged.
“As you can see from these two photos it’s large enough to drive a truck through,” Roche said. “If this tunnel were to fail it would result in a major emergency for this side of San Francisco. Failure would mean hundreds of thousands of gallons of combined storm water and sewage spilling onto Ocean Beach and hundreds of thousands of San Franciscans unable to flush their toilets.”
Not everyone is convinced a seawall is the right solution to protecting this infrastructure.
Nina Atkind is with the Surfrider Foundation, an organization that works to protect coastlines. The group said the seawall is only a temporary fix.
As sea levels rise, they said the city will be forced to eventually relocate the wastewater infrastructure. The group argues that the city should look to do that now rather than later.
They also said a sea wall adds to beach erosion by pushing waves back out onto the beach.
“We feel like we’re going to lose this beach. South Ocean Beach is such a special place and most of California, 75% of California’s beaches by 2100 are going to be eroded. So, it’s a huge issue and the more sea walls that get permitted, the more sea walls are going to get permitted in the future,” said Atkind.
In the end, many of the commissioners echoed those same concerns with the sea wall solution but also said the alternative of simply moving the infrastructure would cost even more money… and wouldn’t be completed in time to protect the tunnel from damage.
“I just don’t think it’s responsible of us to deny this permit given the implications of what could happen. I would encourage the city to keep looking at new technology, to look at new ways. I know this may be falling on deaf ears but technology is changing constantly and if any of this could be done away with, so be it,” said a California Coastal Commissioner.
San Francisco, CA
Exclusive: San Francisco Police Department investigating Zoox collision with a parked car | TechCrunch
The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an accident involving a Zoox autonomous vehicle that crashed into the driver’s side door of a parked car, TechCrunch has learned.
Officers responded to the crash, which occurred at around 2 p.m. local time on January 17 near the intersection of 15th and Mission Streets, according to the department. The Zoox robotaxi was traveling along 15th street when a street ambassador named Jamel Durden opened the driver’s-side door of his 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, according to MissionLocal, which first reported the crash.
Durden’s hand was reportedly smashed during the crash, and the Zoox vehicle suffered damage to its glass doors. The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) told TechCrunch the Zoox vehicle was carrying a passenger at the time, which has not been previously reported. That passenger was an employee of Zoox, according to the company, and was not injured, which the SFPD confirmed.
The police department declined to provide TechCrunch with an incident report “[d]ue to the fact it is still an open investigation.” Zoox filed its own police report about the incident, the company told TechCrunch, but said no additional details have been requested. In a statement on January 20, Zoox said it was “cooperating with local authorities to provide an accurate account of the incident.”
The California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates autonomous vehicles in the state, has also met with Zoox about the January 17 crash. The DMV told TechCrunch that Zoox filed a crash report “in compliance with California regulations.” That report is not yet publicly available.
Zoox is in the early stages of building out its robotaxi service in San Francisco. In November, the company started offering free rides to members of the public who are part of the “Zoox Explorer” early-rider program. The company is operating a similar program in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This rollout has come with challenges. The Amazon-owned company issued a recall in December to fix an issue where some of its vehicles were crossing center lanes and blocking crosswalks. (Zoox also issued two different software updates during recalls earlier in 2025 before it started offering public rides.)
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The January crash in San Francisco happened when Durden “suddenly opened” the door of his car into the path of the robotaxi, according to Zoox. The company said the robotaxi “identified the opening door and tried to avoid it but contact was unavoidable.” (Durden’s employer could not be reached for comment.)
Zoox also said it offered medical attention to Durden, who allegedly declined. According to MissionLocal, Durden refused medical treatment until his car was towed.
“Safety and transparency are foundational to Zoox, and we are cooperating with local authorities to provide an accurate account of the incident,” the company said in a statement.
San Francisco, CA
Video: Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco
new video loaded: Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco
transcript
transcript
Mountain Lion Spotted in San Francisco
Residents were shocked to see a young mountain lion roaming the streets of San Francisco this week. Local animal control agencies were able to capture and tranquilize it on Tuesday.
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Swear to God, am I tripping? There’s a mountain lion. What is that? I can see it. Oh my God. What the. Dude!
By Cynthia Silva
January 27, 2026
San Francisco, CA
Animal control locates mountain lion in San Francisco
A young mountain lion that was spotted Monday night in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood has been located, city officials said.
Around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, city officials said San Francisco Animal Care and Control found the mountain lion and that they are working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to manage the situation. No injuries were reported.
A biologist is on their way to the scene, with the plan to tranquilize the animal and move it to a suitable location, officials said.
The mountain lion was first reported Monday night after being seen near Octavia Street and Pacific Avenue, according to an alert from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management.
Animal Care and Control officials said experts believe the animal is about a year old. It had also been seen earlier Monday morning near Lafayette Park, just a few blocks from the later sighting.
City officials said the mountain lion was likely lost and may have been trying to move south out of the city.
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