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Trevor Noah has some thoughts about San Francisco’s Tenderloin

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Trevor Noah has some thoughts about San Francisco’s Tenderloin


FILE: Trevor Noah speaks on June 20, 2023, in Cannes, France.

Dave Benett/Getty Images

Trevor Noah isn’t from the Bay Area, but it didn’t take him very long to learn that the phrase “from San Francisco” can mean a lot of different things.

The former “Daily Show” host is booked for an extended residency at SF’s Masonic auditorium, playing a whopping 12 shows, plus one in Oakland at the Paramount Theatre. At Sunday night’s show, Noah took the stage around 7:45 p.m. for a tight hour of comedy that was more akin to a recap of his recent travels than a traditional stand-up set.

There were some fun bits about regional U.K. slang (particularly a word for cigarette that is far more offensive on this side of the pond), the Irish being referred to as “the Blacks of Europe” and Germany’s stoic sense of humor, but the best moments of the show came during an extended section about San Francisco.

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Noah began by addressing the national narrative about the city.

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“Everyone told me, ‘Oh Trevor, you don’t want to go to San Francisco. Have you seen it right now? It’s Armageddon. It’s chaos in the streets!’” he said.

He remarked that he didn’t think the situation was all that different from many other American cities he has visited, but did share some observations about his time here so far, much of which has been spent walking the city. He wasn’t a big fan of toothpaste being locked up at pharmacies (and the shame of pushing the button for an attendant kept him from buying some fancy chocolates). A day trip brought him out to Sausalito, where he enjoyed a meal from Sushi Ran. He did a solid bit about the hills (“the cars are holding on for dear life”), loved Chinatown, and even expressed appreciation for elements of the Tenderloin.

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“The thing I liked about the Tenderloin is that you are present. In a world where we are constantly distracted by our phones, thoughts running through our heads, it was nice to be in a place where I was in the moment,” Noah said. “My mind was nowhere else … I’m noticing its feel, its smell, its taste, its touch. I’m just there — hop-skipping down the sidewalk.”

For reasons that aren’t hard to imagine, the line of jokes led to a complaint about San Francisco’s lack of public bathrooms.

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But the best moment of the night came when Noah asked the crowd how many people were from San Francisco. After a surprisingly large roar died down, he started talking with a woman in the front row who had cheered in response to the question. He asked her if she’d lived in San Francisco her whole life and she answered that she’s lived “around the Bay Area.”

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“So not in San Francisco … just around it,” Noah said.

The person responded that they grew up in Fremont and Oakland, and revealed that they were born in San Francisco but moved out of the city at age 1, only to return in 2021.

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“You lived here for a year — but you were zero to 1. … You were a zero-year-old! You didn’t live s—t … your parents lived here!” he said playfully.

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Although Noah was likely unaware of it, he inadvertently stumbled onto one of the biggest San Francisco tropes — saying from you’re “from San Francisco,” when you actually grew up in a far-flung suburb. It’s such a common refrain that it spawned a TikTok trend, and even an Axios article featuring a survey of readers. Of the 115 respondents, 57% expressed that it’s not OK to claim San Francisco heritage if you grew up in another part of the Bay Area. 

After last night’s set, it was clear that Trevor Noah agrees.

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San Francisco, CA

Man charged in connection with two dozen retail thefts at San Francisco stores

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Man charged in connection with two dozen retail thefts at San Francisco stores


SAN FRANCISCO – A Daly City man is facing multiple felony charges in connection with more than two dozen retail thefts targeting San Francisco stores, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office has charged 20-year-old Cuauhtemoc Ramirez with three counts of robbery, seven counts of organized retail theft, 23 counts of commercial burglary and 23 counts of grand theft. Ramirez also has been charged with 11 counts of vandalism, one count of attempted commercial burglary and one count of misdemeanor shoplifting.

Ramirez, who was arraigned on Monday, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“Prolific, brazen, organized retail thieves will be vigorously prosecuted; there will be accountability and perpetrators will face consequences,” Jenkins said in a statement.

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According to prosecutors, Ramirez is believed to be part of an organized group that committed at least 24 incidents between Dec. 10, 2023 and April 17. Targeted retailers include Walgreens, Safeway, ZGO Perfumery, Smart & Final, BevMo and LensCrafters.

“Mr. Ramirez and his accomplices are alleged to have stolen over $100,000 in merchandise as well as to have caused thousands of dollars in damage to store property,” the DA’s office said in a statement.

Prosecutors also accuse Ramirez of vandalizing property during multiple incidents and used the threat of force and fear to steal during three of the incidents.

As of Tuesday, Ramirez remains held without bail, following a request by the DA’s office to detain him pending trial, citing a risk to public safety.

Ramirez’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 10, where a preliminary hearing date is expected to be set and the court is expected to rule on a motion to consolidate his pending cases, prosecutors said.

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Jets to play San Francisco 49ers Week 1 on Monday Night Football

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Jets to play San Francisco 49ers Week 1 on Monday Night Football


The NFL is releasing its full 2024 schedule on Wednesday night, but prior to the full release the league is providing details on some marquee games.

We now know the Week 1 opponent for the Jets. The team will travel to the West Coast to play the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.

The 49ers are the defending NFC Champion. This marks the second straight year the Jets kick off their season with a marquee Week 1 matchup on Monday Night Football. The team famously won an overtime thriller against the division rival Bills to start the 2023 campaign. Of course that win came at a big price as Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on the first offensive series.

Robert Saleh served as 49ers defensive coordinator before his hiring as Jets head coach in 2021.

The Jets and 49ers last played in Week 1 in 1998. The game was a classic. San Francisco won on a 96 yard touchdown run by Garrison Hearst in overtime. However, the Jets went on to win 12 games that season and appeared in the AFC Championship Game.





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Facing $800M budget deficit, SF looks into city department expenses

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Facing $800M budget deficit, SF looks into city department expenses


SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco could soon face more budget cuts.

“We are about three quarters of the way into our fiscal year. We are taking a look into how we are doing in the year and how is our revenue coming in,” said Michelle Allersma, director of Budget and Analysis in the controller’s office.

San Francisco’s current annual budget for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 is $14.6 billion.

By Tuesday, the Allersma said the office will have a detailed report that will inform the mayor what steps to take.

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MORE: Mayor Breed announces SF budget for next 2 years, revealing key city priorities

“We are looking the general fund and we are looking into all the tax revenue. So there is sales tax, hotel tax,” said Allersma.

The controller’s office is digging deeper into the expenses by every city department and the revenues coming in. One concern so far is office vacancies.

“We are definitely seeing not a lot of commercial buildings are selling. We are taking a hit in our real estate transfer tax,” said Allersma.

Ahead of the latest budget review, Mayor Breed asked for city departments to make cuts for the next fiscal year.

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MORE: SFMTA to add 35 more transit fare inspectors amid financial crisis

As the last controllers report looms today the Mayor’s office said in part:

“The Mayor has asked Departments to proposed reductions of 10%, but that doesn’t mean those will lead to cuts. She could choose to take all of their proposed reductions, or only part of them, or none at all.”

One of those asked to make cuts was the sheriff’s department.

“We don’t have anything else to cut. We are already short-staffed. We have cut and we are proposing to cut a little bit of our overtime budget only as a part of that and we are looking at asking for more money,” said San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto.

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Sheriff Miyamoto is reporting a 36% increase in the jail population over the past year.

MORE: SFUSD officials under pressure from state amid ongoing budget crisis

“We need to deal with the increase in the population and the needs of that population. The transportation cost that are associated with moving people back and forth from our main jail out in San Bruno to the courts,” said Sheriff Miyamoto.

By June 1, the mayor is set to submit a full proposal for the budget to the board of supervisors. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is part of the city’s budget and finance committee.

“We are in a rough place budgetary. We had to make pretty significant cuts last year and we are going to have to do that again this year,” said Mandelman. “I’m concerned about basic services, public safety of course but I’m also concerned about housing. We have more than 10,000 people every night who used to be homeless and are now housed.”

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Full statement from the mayor’s office:

“The Mayor’s Budget will be submitted by the end of this month. Any new information provided by the Controller will be incorporated in that budget. To be clear, the Mayor has asked Departments to proposed reductions of 10%, but that doesn’t mean those will lead to cuts. She could choose to take all of their proposed reductions, or only part of them, or none at all. And Departments can propose their reductions by finding other sources of revenue, like state and federal grants, to offset their costs.There is a lot of work that goes into balancing the budget, and the Mayor and her staff have been working on this for months. We will have more at the end of the month.”

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