San Francisco, CA
The Bono fountain is broken. Is SF too broke to fix it?
A huge concrete fountain that Bono famously graffitied during a free concert at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza in 1987 has been drained after “a major mechanical failure” forced the city to shut the water off.
The last pump that serviced the Vaillancourt Fountain, also known as “Quebec libre!,” failed about two weeks ago, Tamara Aparton, a Recreation and Parks Department spokesperson, told The Standard. Now, the 53-year-old brutalist sculpture must have its mechanical and electrical systems replaced. The cost? Upward of $3 million.
“The fountain systems were extremely antiquated and past the end of their useful life,” Aparton said in an email. “Due to [the] age of the infrastructure, the fountain systems require a full renovation.”
It’s unclear if or when those repairs could happen. Aparton said there was “no timeline.” For now, the department is working with the Arts Commission to install temporary container plants in the fountain.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco police release video of shootout that critically wounded officer
Police in San Francisco released body camera footage and additional details following a shootout with a robbery suspect that critically wounded an officer.
On Tuesday, the department held a virtual town hall meeting on the incident, which occurred on the night of May 31.
“In the San Francisco Police Department, we recognize that our sworn duty as law enforcement officers is to honor and respect the sanctity of human life. We also know that as police officers, we are sometimes required to use force, including deadly force, in the performance of our duties,” Police Chief Derrick Lew said.
Acting Commander Thomas Harvey delivered a multimedia presentation of the incident. Shortly before 10:30 p.m. that night, a license plate reader alerted officers about a vehicle associated with an armed robbery entering San Francisco on the Bay Bridge.
Officers found the vehicle, a gray Toyota Camry sedan, traveling northbound on Fifth Street from Folsom Street. Drones and other resources were requested as part of a plan to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle.
Around 10:40 p.m. officers attempted to stop the vehicle at Mission and First streets in the city’s South of Market.
In bodycam footage, officers are heard ordering the driver to turn the vehicle off. One of the officers is heard saying, “He’s gonna take off. I think he’s gonna take off.”
The driver led officers on a pursuit, which ended with the driver striking a concrete median on Bayshore Boulevard near Jerrold Avenue.
Harvey said as officers told the suspects inside the vehicle to come out with their hands up, the driver emerged from the vehicle and fired at police, striking an officer. One of the officers, identified as Brittany Taylor, was struck by gunfire.
Several officers returned fire, striking a passenger in the vehicle.
Harvey identified the officers who discharged their weapons as Officer Rachel Carranza, Officer Jeremmy Catiller and Officer Angela Maniego.
Taylor is receiving medical treatment for her injuries at a local hospital.
“I also want to send our best wishes to our officer in her continued success in recovery and also want to thank the public for the overwhelming support that we’ve received,” Lew said at the briefing.
The passenger, later identified as Ariunsanaaa Dolgorsuren, was arrested and is currently receiving medical treatment for his injuries, police said.
The driver of the vehicle left the scene on foot across Bayshore Boulevard, through a Chevron station parking lot and eastbound Jerrold Avenue. Shortly after 12:15 a.m. on June 1, police received a call that the suspect was inside the gate of the Bayshore Navigation Center.
Officers arrested the suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Norris Reed III of Oakland. Video from police showed officers seizing two firearms from Reed, which were determined to be a .40 caliber Glock 23 handgun and a 9mm privately manufactured handgun with no serial number.
Reed faces multiple charges, including four counts of attempted murder, assault with a firearm upon a police officer, resisting an executive officer with force or violence, reckless evading, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and conspiracy.
Jail records show Reed is being held without bail, with his next court appearance scheduled for June 11.
Dolgorsuren is also facing four counts of attempted murder, assault with a firearm upon a police officer, resisting an executive officer with force or violence, conspiracy and shooting from a motor vehicle
The shooting remains under investigation by multiple entities, including the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the police department’s Investigative Services Division and Internal Affairs Division, along with the Department of Police Accountability.
San Francisco, CA
Bay Area artists celebrate Wong Kim Ark’s legacy in San Francisco’s Chinatown
A new mural in San Francisco is getting lots of attention as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the fight over birthright citizenship this summer.
Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco’s Chinatown, cemented birthright citizenship in the U.S. more than 120 years ago.
“I am an American” is written in both English and Chinese with Wong Kim Ark’s portrait at the corner of Sacramento Street and Grant Avenue. The mural is located near the corner where Wong Kim Ark was born in the 1870s to Chinese immigration parents.
Norman Chuck, known as “Vogue,” along with Elaine Chu and Marina Perez-Wong of Twin Walls Mural Company, have been working on the project for the past month.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Wong Kim Ark,” Chu said.
“It tells us that we belong here and we matter just as much as the next person,” Vogue said.
“Both my parents were immigrants from China,” Vogue went on to say. “I am a first-born American, so it directly relates to me.”
The mural and a bronze plaque are on display at the Chinatown corner for people to stop and learn.
Wong Kim Ark was refused entry back into the U.S. after a trip to China under the Chinese Exclusion Act. Wong Kim Ark challenged the Supreme Court on his right to be called an American citizen and won his case in 1898.
“We want this mural to not also educate but also be a part of the community where people can see themselves reflected in these spaces, in Wong Kim Ark,” Chu said.
“A lot of our aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents came through Angel Island, and that shouldn’t be something that’s looked at as a negative,” Perez-Wong said. “We’re what makes this community vibrant.”
California and other states are suing President Donald Trump over his executive order to end birthright citizenship. For San Francisco, it means the story of “Wong Kim Ark” is more relevant than ever. Gia Vang reports.
The artists collaborated with the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum (CHSA), community and family members on the project. Each image on the wall has a story to tell, reflecting Wong Kim Ark’s life like his village and passport photos. There are also images that reflect the Chinatown community, like a vendor or family.
“The story of immigrants, the story of people who were born here who shouldn’t be considered foreign because they were born here, it’s birthright citizenship,” Perez-Wong.
The artists hope when people walk by, they will see the layers of history that spark curiosity and celebration.
“This is a legacy mural for me,” Vogue said.
“I had a little kid walk by and he read, ‘I am an American,’ and I just remember he boldly and proudly said, ‘I’m a Chinese American,’ when he walked by with his mom,” Chu said.
San Francisco leaders on Friday commemorated nearly 130 years since the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship to everyone born in the country, including the children of all immigrants. Sergio Quintana reports.
San Francisco, CA
Beloved Chit Chat Cafe at closed Pacifica Municipal Pier demolished
Demolition of a beloved café at the closed Pacifica Municipal Pier began on Tuesday after being red-tagged last week.
Heavy equipment began tearing into the Chit Chat Café at about 11 a.m. The café, a local favorite at the base of the pier since the 1990s, was shut down when cracks were observed forming in the pier’s concrete last week.
The pier has been closed at times during strong winter storms and heavy waves, but the cause of the current structural damage has is still being assessed by structural engineers.
Owners of the café said the demolition began before they were allowed to go in and retrieve any of their equipment or belongings, and the community is rallying to help them with an online fundraiser.
On Monday night the Pacifica City Council extended an emergency declaration over the pier’s condition, which has worsened from cracks in the concrete to a large chasm. It is not yet know whether the pier itself, built in 1973, will be repaired or demolished and rebuilt.
In December 2023, the pier was closed after high tides and large waves damaged it. The pier reopened weeks later after undergoing nearly $20 million in repairs.
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