SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Hundreds of people attending the West Coast Taco and Beer Festival in San Francisco Saturday were met with a long line leading to underwhelming expectations. For many, the event was not what they paid for.

“It was probably like almost an hour in line,” said Matt Jenkins who attended the event with his fiancée. “They only had one person checking tickets at the front door, which was insane. I don’t know, there were like probably over 1,000 people that were waiting in line.”

According to an admission ticket, the event offered alcohol tastings and taco samples from over 30 vendors. However, according to Jenkins and his fiancée Willa, it wasn’t anywhere close to that.

“It was not 30,” said Willa Bautista. “Ten maybe, and the beer was a little sample, and the line to get it was long.”

They also say none of the food was free. It all costed extra.

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“We had heard after the first 20 minutes, all of the free options ran out,” Jenkins said. “But no one was even able to get in by the time that was offered.”

In a statement, Blue Stream Entertainment, the organizer said:

“We’re saddened to hear about the reaction we’ve had coming to San Francisco. When we built this company, our mission was to bring a community together to celebrate local chefs and breweries. We are as transparent as we possibly can be and we understand the community’s frustration with the long lines and the limited tastings. We are currently working with our vendors to improve future events to make sure that we hold our mission statement true and improve the guest experience.”

They went on to say they have changed the format for their upcoming event in San Jose. The tickets will include bottomless beer samples and the food will be for purchase. Jenkins and Bautista say they have tried to ask for refunds but haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone.

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“I DM’d them on Instagram explaining the situation and asking for a refund, but I haven’t heard anything back yet,” Bautista said. “There wasn’t, like, an email or ‘contact us’ or anything, like, so I don’t know.”

Bautista said the event’s Instagram page was full of angry comments from festival attendees, and she believes a lot of those comments were deleted.

“I was looking at the comments. It was basically saying ‘This is a scam. Don’t go,’” she said. “Then, when we left the event like 30 minutes later, I wanted to see if more had commented and all the comments I saw before were gone.”

To them, it was something they looked forward to, but now they think they just wasted $100.

“It is extremely deceptive of those people to throw an event like that,” Jenkins said. “Then to think they will be ok having people come to an event like that.”

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed recently promised a more aggressive approach to cleaning up encampments in the city. Crews removed several encampments in the last week. CBS News Bay Area returned to three different spots and found tents had also returned to those locations.

“This (tent) definitely wasn’t here this morning. This gentleman just moved in right now,” said Ramsey Armstrong as he walked along Treat Avenue.

Armstrong works at a salon across from the Treat Avenue encampment. City workers cleared the area about five days ago. A few people returned Sunday morning to set up their tents.

“As soon as the cops go, they’ll be back the next day,” Armstrong said. “Where do they got to go? I mean it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Ramsey said it happens every time after an encampment cleanup.

“What good is doing that if there’s no solution longterm for these individuals? Yes, be aggressive, but also be aggressive in having a sustainable system,” Armstrong said.

Nearby on Folsom Street between 18th and 19th streets, a few people living in tents admitted the city had cleared their tents several days ago.

“It’s what happens. I’ve been watching this happen for a long time. I’ve been living here for over 40 years,” said Susan Patton-Fox.

It was the same situation on Willow Street in the Tenderloin. City workers offered shelter and removed tents multiple times last week. Police even made one arrest but, on Sunday afternoon, there were few new tents and a lot of campers, some could be seen using drugs.

“They definitely have been ramping up the consistency of it and the time frames,” said Anthony Schliecher about the encampment cleanups.

Schliecher is unhoused and was standing at the corner of Willow and Larkin Streets.

“Not everyone wants help, not everyone does. It’s sad. Some people just aren’t ready,” Schliecher said.

He said he declined the shelter that was offered to him before because it felt like jail. Others said they wanted apartments, not rooms they would have to share with strangers.

“It’s not just a drug issue but there’s a lot of mental issues out here,” said Jeff Duhadway, who is unhoused.

Neighbors said a permanent fix will require more housing, case workers and, ultimately, a lot more money that the city may not have.

“All the candidates (in the mayoral race) are talking about what they want to do about the homeless but of course nobody has a way to figure out how to get more places for these folks to go,” said Patton-Fox.

Armstrong said he appreciated the city for stepping up their efforts but he wants a longterm fix.

“They should have a full-flex solution. Don’t just do things just to try get re-elected. And then, boom! Once you’re elected, things drop again. People don’t want to see that,” Armstrong said.

The Cincinnati Reds (53-58) fell 8-2 to the San Francisco Giants (56-57) on Sunday afternoon.

Here are our postgame takeaways:

Carson Spiers Solid Outing

Spiers was cruising right along through three innings before Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run in the fourth to tie the game at two. In the sixth, LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a solo home run to give the Giants a 3-2 off Spiers, a ball that was a home run in only four parks in Major League Baseball. Spiers tossed 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out five. The right-hander has an ERA of 3.59 this season.

Missed Opportunities for the Offense

The Reds got off to a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Jeimer Candelario and Santiago Espinal hit back-to-back home runs.

In the fifth, Espinal stole third base to give the Reds a runner on third with less than two outs. Luke Maile and Jonathan India both struck out to end the inning.

In the sixth, Elly De La Cruz stole third base with only one out in the inning. Ty France struck out and TJ Friedl grounded out to end the Reds’ threat.

The Reds offense had just four hits all game long.

Fernando Cruz’s Struggles Continue

Coming into the game, Fernando Cruz has really struggled over the past month. Since July 3, he had an ERA of 9.00 and opponents were hitting .314 against him during that time.

His struggles continued on Sunday afternoon. With a man on first and the Reds trailing 3-2, Cruz entered in the eighth and gave up a two-run home run to Matt Chapman. Cruz did not record an out before being pulled. His ERA is up to 5.08 on the season.

Up Next

The Reds and Marlins will face off in a four-game series starting at 6:40 ET on Monday.

News and Notes

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