NEW: Assemblymember Matt Haney was one of only a handful of elected officials in the CA Legislature who spent more campaign $ than they raised in the first half of 2025. A big reason: Lawyer fees. Haney is under 2 state political watchdog investigations sfstandard.com/2025/08/07/m...

Comments made by a San Francisco deputy chief have sparked a debate on whether police will side w/ federal immigration agents over protesters. Police can't legally assist ICE, but SFPD sees coordination as arrests & providing info—not blocking protesters. sfstandard.com/2025/07/15/s...

JUST IN: State Sen. Scott Wiener filed paperwork Friday to run for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s seat in Congress in 2028. But if Pelosi decides to retire, the San Francisco state senator could transfer his warchest into a 2026 committee. sfstandard.com/2025/06/27/n...

Wiener launches 2028 bid for Nancy Pelosi’s seat in Congress

NEW: Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary for New York mayor has some San Francisco political observers spiraling. The city is fresh off its own progressive experiment & some of SF's loudest critics say the Big Apple is in for a rotten turn. sfstandard.com/2025/06/25/z...

The Golden Gate Bridge CEO’s efforts to purge DEI language and policies suggest that the Trump administration’s aggressive actions are having the intended chilling effect. sfstandard.com/2025/06/24/g...

NEW: Harmeet Dhillon, the head of Civil Rights in U.S., is one of the most complex political figures I’ve profiled. How a conservative immigrant in San Francisco went full MAGA to lead Trump’s culture wars—and what this means for civil rights & elections sfstandard.com/2025/06/23/h...

TONIGHT: Thousands of demonstrators gathered at multiple locations across San Francisco to protest ICE raids and Trump sending soldiers to CA. “We are not out here to burn shit or break shit, we are out here to show them we are not scared,” one speaker told the crowd sfstandard.com/2025/06/09/s...

NEW: Mayor Daniel Lurie has resisted talking about President Donald Trump in public since taking office. The last week — from mothers & children being arrested, protests & riots, & Trump sending 2K soldiers to CA — may require a change in that strategy. sfstandard.com/2025/06/09/s...

"Of the dozens of insiders I spoke with, most admitted that this year’s convention was alarmingly mired in the same themes and mantras that doomed Dems in 2024..." Many CA Dems are tired of the status quo, but few will say so publicly, per @joshkoehn.bsky.social sfstandard.com/2025/06/02/c...

NEW: Trying to figure out what Democrats plan to do to win back voters always felt like a sucker’s bet. Conventions aren’t the place for new ideas & strategies, they’re an orgiastic celebration of the status quo. But something felt very off in Disneyland. sfstandard.com/2025/06/02/c...

JUST IN: Plainclothes federal agents detained at least one man Tuesday morning and loaded him into an unmarked van, in what was believed to be among the first arrests of undocumented immigrants at San Francisco immigration court. Story by @tomokichien.bsky.social sfstandard.com/2025/05/27/u...

JUST IN: Supervisor Bilal Mahmood is pitching a plan to transform a popular block of Hayes Street into a new entertainment zone and “town square” that — hold on to your britches! — could permanently close the stretch of road to cars. Read all about it 👇 sfstandard.com/2025/05/23/h...

NEW: It’s nearly a foregone conclusion that Democrats will rally around Kamala Harris as their preferred candidate for California governor in the 2026 election. Here’s why that plan could backfire. sfstandard.com/2025/05/15/k...

This week in San Francisco people publicly faking their deaths: "Jeffy Yu was days away from his 23rd birthday when he appeared to take his own life Sunday in a livestream ... @SFStandard found Yu on Wednesday, holed up at his parents’ Crocker-Amazon home" sfstandard.com/2025/05/08/j...

NEW: Uber officials sent a scathing letter threatening a lawsuit against San Francisco the same day Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a deal giving Waymo access to Market Street. The mayor's team has been doing damage control meetings since then. Exclusive 👇 sfstandard.com/2025/04/21/s...

NEW: After seeing what happened with Biden and Feinstein, San Francisco Democrats want to put an age limit on politicians and hope to get the California party’s backing. However, local officials said this is not an attempt to push out Nancy Pelosi. sfstandard.com/2025/04/21/s...

NEW: Uber, Lyft & safe-street advocates are all upset with Mayor Daniel Lurie’s decision to let Waymo roll onto Market Street. Critics also say Lurie cut a deal without extracting long-sought concessions on robotaxi data. Is Lurie too cozy with Waymo? sfstandard.com/2025/04/15/s...

NEW: My investigation for @sfstandard.com found Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara appears to have a “slush fund” to buy booze/food at some of California’s fanciest bars & restaurants. And we got receipts—including a $700 dinner w/ Farmers Insurance CEO. sfstandard.com/2025/04/10/c...

NEW: After digging into city invoices & contracts, @anniegaus.bsky.social & I found what appears to be a major red flag 🚩regarding a $620K, 1-day women’s conference. Suspended city director Kimberly Ellis gifted a $30K overpayment to a nonprofit she’s close with. sfstandard.com/2025/04/01/s...

In light of Trump saying he’s “not joking” about seeking a third term as President, I’m reupping a story from a couple weeks ago by @eshugs.bsky.social and me on a Democratic powerbrokers conference in San Francisco. The “lay low” strategy will be seriously tested. sfstandard.com/2025/03/15/d...

NEW: San Francisco is famous for burning taxpayer cash, but a women's policy summit last year may have set a new standard by lighting more than $600K ablaze. We got receipts on hotels, massages, a DJ & speaker fees — including one tasked with oversight. sfstandard.com/2025/03/28/s...

EXCLUSIVE: @adamlashinsky.bsky.social got the deck Mayor Daniel Lurie’s team has been showing San Francisco’s wealthy donor class as he tries to raise $100 million to ramp up shelter beds. The BIG question: will throwing private 💸 at homelessness change anything? sfstandard.com/opinion/2025...

NEW: Former staff in SF Department on Status of women say suspended director Kimberly Ellis bullied & pushed out employees to have free reign over taxpayer money, funding lavish meals, contracts for friends & a fancy Tahoe retreat. sfstandard.com/2025/03/27/s...

Hello! Been a minute but plan to start posting here more 😅 NEW STORY: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is putting a muzzle on city departments when it comes to talking with the media, sources say. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” sfstandard.com/2025/02/28/s...

An act of political theater quickly spiraled out of control Tuesday. Not to say this is surprising in any way, but just noting the political tension in San Francisco is real. https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/woman-throws-brick-at-sf-officials-after-un-plaza-meeting-cut-short-by-heckling/

A person named Thor Kill who had materials to make guns and bombs—and also possessed Nazi armbands—was convicted in a San Francisco courtroom this week. https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/extremely-alarming-social-media-posts-lead-sfpd-to-massive-ammo-cache-including-nazi-armbands/

🫣 hello world

Very curious how this will all skeet out. https://sfstandard.com/business/were-going-to-win-garry-tan-implores-tech-leaders-to-get-involved-in-sf-politics/

Every year, hundreds audition for the Warriors senior dance team, which started in 2018—but only around two dozen make the cut. https://sfstandard.com/arts-culture/doing-the-splits-at-77-its-all-in-a-days-work-for-the-warriors-senior-dance-squad/

We should be seriously worried about proliferation of deep fakes, as it becomes increasingly difficult to prove what’s real. But for now, AI’s best use will likely automating “grunt work” Could be a different story by 2028. https://sfstandard.com/politics/how-ai-will-change-the-game-in-politics/

Tulip Time!!!

A massive hit to downtown San Francisco retail, as Nordstrom announces it is closing up shop(s). https://sfstandard.com/business/nordstrom-to-shutter-both-san-francisco-downtown-stores-citing-deteriorating-conditions-report/

The best donut in the world is found in a little town called Pella, Iowa. Behold the Chocolate Bismarck from Jaarsma’s 🤤

ℹ️ Got a Bluesky Invite. Here’s Why Elon Musk and Twitter Should Be Worried ... @joshkoehn.bsky.social https://sfstandard.com/business/i-got-a-bluesky-invite-heres-why-elon-musk-and-twitter-should-be-worried/

The first thing you notice using Bluesky is how happy everyone is to no longer be drinking from the firehose in Elon Musk’s godforsaken hellscape. https://sfstandard.com/business/i-got-a-bluesky-invite-heres-why-elon-musk-and-twitter-should-be-worried/

It’s going down at Second City 😁

A very nice story about women volunteers basically being the reason the Bay Area is still beautiful and not an overdeveloped parking lot. https://sfstandard.com/arts-culture/parks-outdoors/women-female-environmentalists-preserve-bay-area-wilderness/

👨🏻‍🍳😘🤌

Getting the invite before my editor