San Francisco Public Press

09/22/2025

The San Francisco Public Press is delighted to welcome San Francisco journalist Cami Dominguez as a California Local News Fellow.
Cami is one of 38 early-career journalists who will work in local newsrooms across the state for two years through the California Local News Fellowship based at the University of California, Berkeley.
https://www.facebook.com/UCBerkeley
https://www.facebook.com/sanfranciscostate

09/19/2025

Internal SFPD training instructs officers to consider how to respond if a person being detained strikes an ICE agent with a hammer. But the department offers no specific guidance on how to intervene, if at all, when ICE agents use force on civilians.

As federal agents detain more immigrants in San Francisco, and activists protest and sometimes intervene in arrests, records shed light on the limited training that local police receive to address at times volatile confrontations. Scenarios given in a San Francisco police training document obtained by the Public Press lack clear guidance for the tricky position local officers might be in if ICE agents use excessive force or harm members of the public, which is what officers should be trained to respond to, said Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project.

The training focuses on the safety of the ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents, as opposed to public safety, she said.

09/18/2025

A backlash over converting of the Great Highway into park led to the downfall of west-side Supervisor Joel Engardio.

Engardio defended his support to the conversion of the beachside roadway in his district, saying that he is on “the right side of history.” Yet many of his constituents, who said that their concerns are dismissed and voted him out by a wide margin. Asian American voters, who make up half of his district, played a prominent role in the recall effect. They have also been instrumental in past recalls and have long expressed frustration over being excluded from transportation decisions, dating back to the freeway demolition decades ago.

Despite significant donation from tech billionaires went to support the supervisor, Engardio still failed to keep his seat.

A powerful political backlash to the conversion of a roadway to a park on the city’s western seashore led to Tuesday’s downfall of the supervisor representing the neighborhood — a move Asian American leaders say signals the rising political power of a community long ignored on transportation i...

09/12/2025

The fastest-growing population entering homelessness is adults 55+.
But this event isn’t about despair. It is about resilience, community, and solutions.
�Join us for a screening of No Place to Grow Old and a panel discussion to hear first-hand perspectives.

Bit.ly/4ltoePY

09/12/2025

As the Trump administration attacks transgender peoples' rights and access to care, some trans residents who moved to the city in search of safety are facing the same challenges they fled.

In 2024 San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city for transgender, gender-nonconforming, intersex and two-spirit people. Transgender residents say this remains a comparatively safe place for them among U.S. cities as anti-trans bills proliferate. But federal decisions are cutting off trans people’s access to healthcare services and benefits, and denying immigrants due process, putting trans immigrants at risk of incarceration or deportation. The administration is also pressuring local governments and providers to follow suit.

https://www.sfpublicpress.org/sfs-transgender-residents-still-face-threats-even-in-sanctuary-city/

FYI:
https://www.facebook.com/TransCitySF/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089918058086
https://www.facebook.com/oasislegalservices
https://www.facebook.com/calnurses
https://www.facebook.com/larkinstreetyouthservices

As the Trump administration attacks trans rights, some who moved to San Francisco for protection face the challenges they tried to flee.

09/09/2025

A narrative emerged in the lead up to DCCC's vote: if its members opposed the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio, it could signal to west-side Asian American voters that their voices don't matter.

Though most DCCC members align politically with Engardio, the vote ended in a tie, leaving the committee without an official position.

Recall supporters called the result a victory. While the non-endorsement is unlikely to affect the election outcome, political strategists say it reflects the growing influence of a constituency demanding a seat at the city’s political table.

When Chair Nancy Tung announced that the Democratic County Central Committee of San Francisco would not take a position on the recall of District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, recall supporters cheered. In the lead-up to the vote, a narrative gained traction: if the DCCC opposed the recall, it would s...

09/09/2025

Social Security touches the lives of 1 in 5 Americans. In San Francisco, over 100,000 people rely on monthly benefits for essentials like housing, food, and medicine.
But sweeping staffing cuts, office closures, stricter ID rules, and unresponsive systems are leaving vulnerable people anxious and afraid.
The latest investigation by Sylvie Sturm shows the human cost — from a long-term HIV survivor losing health coverage overnight to seniors fearing homelessness to staff burnout leading to hospitalization.
Listen to the reporting on the latest episode of Civic by the San Francisco Public Press:
🔗https://www.sfpublicpress.org/looming-medicaid-cuts-threaten-san-franciscos-safety-net/

https://www.facebook.com/sfpaulie // https://www.facebook.com/afgelocal3172 // https://www.facebook.com/SFHumanServices // https://www.facebook.com/people/Monica-Gandhi/1121237728/?_rdr // https://www.facebook.com/NancyPelosi/ // https://www.facebook.com/AdamSchiffCA/

Experts warn that federal funding reductions would jeopardize in-home support, block access to care and drive more patients to ERs.

08/29/2025

Is California’s EV strategy about subsidies, deregulation — or driving less? I spent the weekend at Electrify Expo and talked with people who say EVs can live on their own merit now, plus advocates pressing the state to double down on funding transit operations and safer walking/biking to actually cut pollution.
Full story: https://www.sfpublicpress.org/vehicle-electrification-in-california-at-a-turning-point/

FYI:
California Air Resources Board
California Energy Commission
Caltrans HQ
Earthjustice
ElectrifyExpo

As state officials debate how to support adoption of carbon-free mobility, some EV boosters say the government has to stop touting eco-goals or offering incentives, and “get the hell out of the way” as the market grows.

08/26/2025

We are thrilled to share -- How Chinese Americans in San Francisco Are Demanding a Seat at the Table by Zhe Wu has been recognized as a finalist in the 2025 Online Journalism Awards (OJAs), in the Gather Award for Community-Centered Journalism, Overall Excellence, Community-Based & Rural Focus category.
This honor underscores the importance of journalism that engages deeply with communities, uplifts voices often overlooked, and informs public dialogue.
Winners will be announced Aug. 28 — join us in celebrating this achievement!
Learn more: https://awards.journalists.org/entries/how-chinese-americans-in-san-francisco-are-demanding-a-seat-at-the-table

08/21/2025

A new city report shows deaths in San Francisco from chronic hepatitis B are down, though case rates remain above the national average. Experts say the decline in deaths is a hopeful sign that more people are accessing treatment, but warn that shifting demographics in the new cases might signal a need for hepatitis B vaccination. The report, released in June just days after our series on how the disease disproportionately affects Bay Area Asian Americans, had been long anticipated by local public health advocates. The city said it plans to publish updates annually.

Chronic infection and deaths from the liver-ravaging hepatitis B virus declined in San Francisco from 2021 to 2023 but local case rates still exceeded the national average, the city Department of Public Health said in its first report on the disease in nearly a decade. The report, released last June...

08/19/2025

How far can California go on electric vehicles without federal support?

State agencies just unveiled a new EV roadmap with some promising ideas — including charging subsidies and rebates — but left most decisions up to lawmakers.

No cost estimates. No deadlines. No bills yet.

Read the full breakdown from the San Francisco Public Press:

California regulators Tuesday released a set of proposals recommitting the state to consistent promotion of clean transportation, largely in response to the collapse of federal support for transitioning the economy away from fossil fuels. The recommendations include a wide range of policies, from el...

08/15/2025

Bay Area technology companies are racing to build powerful artificial intelligence systems they admit could pose “catastrophic risks” to society. But a new report by academic experts commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom finds they are resisting transparency and oversight in dangerous ways.

Experts say California urgently needs to regulate the AI industry that it’s incubating, drawing on hard lessons learned from delaying regulation of social media companies and the to***co industry.

So, state Sen. Scott Wiener is following up on his vetoed AI legislation from last year with Senate Bill 53.

Bay Area technology companies are racing to build powerful artificial intelligence systems they admit could pose “catastrophic risks” to society. But a new report by academic experts commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom finds they are resisting transparency and oversight in dangerous ways. The big ...