San Francisco, CA
Youth violence prevention group breaks ground on $20 million expansion in SF's SoMa neighborhood
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — There’s a new community resource center coming to San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood.
The youth violence prevention group United Playaz broke ground on the project on Thursday.
It’s happening near Howard and Russ Streets in San Francisco.
“It’s going to be a resource community center built for literacy and re-entry services and everything else in-between that the community needs,” said Rudy Corpuz Jr., Executive Director of United Playaz said.
Just two doors down from its first location on Howard Street, United Playaz is expanding to a second location.
MORE: 200+ San Francisco office workers volunteer to clean up downtown
“When you look at the statistics, people who can’t read by the third grade most likely end up in prison. And so, we want to teach kids, not only how to read, but to understand what they’re reading,” Corpuz said.
Several members of the organization have spent serious time in the criminal justice system.
The goal is to make sure kids in the next generation don’t follow in their footsteps.
“I was arrested in my development as a young man, because I gravitated toward that street and that’s what this building is about, so these young people could gravitate towards this positivity that the city got to offer,” Patrick, a United Playaz team member said.
The City of San Francisco says this $20 million expansion was made possible because of a total of $15.4 million in federal, state and city support.
MORE: SF street team B.E.S.T. helps bring health care, resources to those at risk
Of that, $9.4 million came from the city.
“The fact that they are here today and doing this work, and want to do this work and want to help change and save lives, is extraordinary,” Mayor London Breed said. “You don’t get this kind of combination of support anywhere else, I think, in this city.”
Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi was also there to present a $4 million check from U.S. Congress.
“This building, will be to dispel fear and isolation and restore it with hope and community, peace, peace for people,” Pelosi said. “This building will be a manifestation of the respect that we have for the dignity and worth of every person, that it is our responsibility to help meet their needs and to understand the resource that they are to the community.”
MORE: Neighbors support San Francisco family after house fire, racist messages
And they’ve got the support of the Golden State Warriors, who share the same district.
Organizers say the team has agreed to help put in the roof when the time comes.
“This is an effort around everybody. It takes the hood to save the hood,” Corpuz said.
The center is projected to open by February of next year.
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San Francisco, CA
Yes, an $8 Burger Exists in Downtown San Francisco
Sometimes life requires an easy hang, without the need for reservations and dressing up, and preferably with food that’s easy to rally folks behind. The newish Hamburguesa Bar is just such a place, opening in December 2025 and serving a tight food menu of smash and tavern burgers (made with beef ground in-house), along with hand-cut duck fat fries, poutine, and Caesar salad. The best part? Nothing here costs more than $20. Seriously, this spot has so much going for it, including solid cocktails and boozy shakes. It’s become a homing beacon for post-work hangs, judging by a recent weekday crowd.
Hamburguesa Bar’s drinks are the epitome of unfussy: Cocktail standards, four beers on tap, two choices of wine (red or white), boozy and non-boozy shakes, plus 21 beers by the can or bottle. Standards on the cocktail menu are just that, a list of drinks you’ve heard before — such as an Old Fashioned, daiquiri, gin or vodka martini, or Harvey Wallbanger — with no special tinctures or fat-washed liquors to speak of (that we know of, at least). I’m typically split on whether boozy shakes are ever worth it, but the Fruity Pebbles option ($14) makes a convincing case, mixed with a just-right amount of vodka and some cereal bits. (I’ll leave the more adventurous Cinnamon Toast shake made with Fireball to others with more positive experiences with that liquor.)
Downtown and SoMa has a reputation for restaurants closing early, but Hamburguesa Bar keeps later hours, closing at midnight from Monday through Saturday (closed Sundays). It’s also open for lunch at noon during those days, with the exception of Saturdays when it opens at 5 p.m.
San Francisco, CA
Iran conflict disrupts flights out of SFO
San Francisco, CA
Hundreds Rally in San Francisco Against U.S.-Israel Strikes on Iran | KQED
She acknowledged that Iranian Americans hold a range of political views, including some who support U.S. intervention, but said she believes the future of Iran should be determined by its people.
“The Iranian people in Iran can decide the future of their country,” she said. “War, I don’t think, is going to help.”
Speaking to the crowd, Mortazavi challenged what she described as a narrative that Iranians broadly support U.S. and Israeli military action.
“They want you to believe that every Iranian … is cheering on the United States and Israel,” she said. “That is unequivocally false.”
She urged attendees to continue organizing beyond the rally and announced plans for additional demonstrations.
Dina Saadeh, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, said multiple groups mobilized quickly in response to the strikes.
“I’m angered today,” Saadeh told KQED. “People here don’t want to see our country engaged in more endless war.”
Saadeh described the protest as part of a broader effort to oppose sanctions, military escalation and what she called U.S. imperialism. She said participants were calling on elected officials to redirect public funds toward domestic needs.
“People want money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation,” she said.
KQED’s María Fernanda Bernal contributed to this story.
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