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
Power outage affects 20,000 households in San Francisco
A large power outage left almost 40,000 PG&E customers without electricity in San Francisco Saturday, according to the company.
The PG&E Outage Center first reported the outage was affecting 24,842 customers, but a few minutes later, PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage was affecting 39,520 households in the areas of Richmond, Sunset, Presidio, Golden Gate Park and parts of downtown.
Officials warned traffic lights in these areas might be impacted and advise that if the traffic signal has gone dark, to treat it as a four-way stop.
According to the website, the outage was first reported at 10:10 a.m. and is expected to be restored at around 3:40 p.m., but PG&E told NBC Bay Area the outage started at around 1:10 p.m. and the estimated time of restoration is unknown.
This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for updates.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco could vote again on whether to allow cars on the Great Highway
In San Francisco’s Sunset District, controversy continues over what to do with the Great Highway.
Friday, the newly-appointed supervisor for that district, Alan Wong, confirmed he is running to keep his job. He also shared that he would support a ballot measure that would bring cars back to the now-closed stretch of road. Some residents in the district already said they would be prepared to fight back against that ballot measure if it came to fruition.
This has been a politically tumultuous year for the Sunset District. In November of 2024, San Francisco voters narrowly approved Proposition K, which moved to close the highway along Ocean Beach to cars and to transform it into a park. In March of 2025, the stretch of road was permanently closed to cars, and in April, the area was officially reopened as Sunset Dunes Park. In September, voters recalled then-Supervisor Joel Engardio, with many in the campaign against Engardio expressing frustration with his support for turning the Great Highway into a park. In November, Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz as the new supervisor for District 4, only to have her resign a week later amid growing questions about her actions as a small business owner.
At the start of December, Mayor Lurie swore in Alan Wong as his new appointee to serve as supervisor in District 4. Wong grew up in the Sunset, attended Lincoln High School, and has served as both an elected member of the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees and as a legislative aid to former supervisor Gordon Mar.
In an interview with NBC Bay Area on Friday, Wong shared that he has not hidden the fact that he voted no on Prop. K in the 2024 election. However, in his first three weeks in office, Wong said he set out to “have conversations with different constituent groups and listen to them” about the issues.
“After three weeks of listening and having these conversations, I believe that my values and how I voted before align with the majority of the district,” Wong said.
San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong supports a ballot measure that calls for cars to return to the Great Highway.
“And as the district supervisor, I need to take a leadership role in representing the district that I am here to serve,” he continued.
Wong said he is now prepared to be one of the four supervisors supporting a ballot initiative to reopen the Great Highway to cars on weekdays.
Molly Rose, with Sunset Parent Advocates, worries that when Wong was listening to community voices over the past three weeks, some voices may have been left out.
“If he talked to the Sunset residents, he didn’t talk to me, and he didn’t talk to us– the family groups I am a part of,” Rose said.
“We are all very pro-park, we use it very heavily as a park,” she continued.
Rose said there are several hundred parents involved with her group. As a parent, Rose said her children love going to the park there.
“Sunset Dunes is the place where I take my kids to have a safe place to play,” she said.
Rose said that she has been asking for Wong to meet with her group, but has been waiting to hear back from his scheduling team.
Wong’s office confirmed that Rose is in touch with their office and that Wong’s scheduler is “actively coordinating a time” for them to meet.
“While I do think there is a very loud, anti-park contingent of people in the Sunset, I don’t think they’re the majority,” Rose emphasized.
San Francisco, CA
New SF supervisor supports reopening Great Highway on weekdays
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Alan Wong, the new supervisor for District four in San Francisco, has publicly expressed his support for reopening the Great Highway to vehicles on weekdays. This statement comes amid ongoing debates surrounding the highway’s conversion into a park last spring, which was met with mixed reactions from the community.
The Great Highway was transformed into a public park earlier this year, a change that many residents have embraced, while some local neighbors have pushed back. Joel Engardio, the former supervisor who supported this conversion through Measure K, was recalled this year, highlighting the division among constituents in District four.
Wong, who was appointed as supervisor following Engardio’s recall, filed paperwork to run for the elected position on the board. His term is set to last until January 2027, during which he aims to solidify his platform around reopening the Great Highway.
In his statement, Wong emphasized, “I believe my values align with a majority of Sunset residents who support reopening the Great Highway to cars on weekdays. As a result, I am prepared to be one of four supervisors needed to sponsor a ballot initiative to restore that compromise.” This suggests Wong’s intent to address community concerns head-on while building a wider consensus.
Prior to its conversion, the Great Highway allowed vehicles during the week and served as a park on weekends, a compromise Wong supports restoring. He aims to return to this model in response to feedback from local constituents.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.
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