San Francisco Beautiful

Another beautiful day in San Francisco! ⛅️

📸 Photography Credits: JGregorySF

Check out the Excelsior Mosaic being built by Vienna Street!

The artists invited the neighborhood kids to help create a farm landscape using tiles to build a barn, windmill, water tower, barn ,clouds, birds and a giant rooster!

What a successful day picking up trash with in Lower Pacific Heights. Huge KUDOS to all of the volunteers who participated last week! 👏

Please join us for this fun community event honoring our founder and symbol of San Francisco, the Cable Cars!!!!

"For Friedel Klussmann, it started with cable cars. Or rather, it started with the threat of losing them.

Following World War II, many, including then-Mayor Roger Lapham, saw the future paved with asphalt and gas-powered automobiles. “Cable cars were already antiques at that time,” said Darcy Brown, executive director of San Francisco Beautiful, a nonprofit Klussman founded in 1947.

But Lapham’s plan to “junk the cable cars” was complicated by Klussmann, who formed a coalition to oppose the measure and began a public campaign to demonstrate that the value of San Francisco’s cable cars was greater than their operational cost.

“Friedel Klussman was just your average neighborhood lady,” said Brown. But, “she decided this was not a good idea. She was far more forward-thinking than the mayor.”

Ultimately, Klussamn’s actions forced a referendum on an amendment to the city charter, compelling the city to continue operating the lines. “Diesel buses did not prompt romance in the minds of riders, and there were no thrills to be found in chugging over a hill, belching exhaust fumes as it went,” the Cable Car museum wrote in commemoration of Klussman’s victory.

But her civic activism did not stop there. In the 1960s, her organization partnered with the Chamber of Commerce to jumpstart San Francisco’s first tree planting program and merged with the Chamber’s litter program to clean City streets and promote green space throughout the city.

Preservation of open space was also important to Dorothy Erskine, a lifelong resident of San Francisco who watched as the sand dunes and lupin bushes surrounding her home on Broadway and Divisadero gave way to housing as the City’s population boomed following the first World War."

https://www.sfexaminer.com/faces/san-franciscos-environmental-pioneers-had-one-thing-in-common-they-were-all-women/

"“The Mini Park is one of the last hubs or meeting areas for the Black community,” said Jameel Patterson, associate director of the New Community Leadership Foundation, a nonprofit that works to empower Black and other disenfranchised communities.

But to Darcy Brown, executive director of the nonprofit San Francisco Beautiful, the park is also an example of how The City has continued to neglect its underserved and historically marginalized populations.

“It feels abandoned because it has been,” said Brown. “We’re talking about a tiny little park for a community that really needs a boost in San Francisco. It’s all fine to post Black Lives Matter posters everywhere and march around. But what are you doing to really back that up for the community?”

The Fillmore District is known as a rich cultural and commercial corridor in the heart of San Francisco. It’s a place that gave the world the “Harlem of the West” for its renowned jazz scene, nightclubs, restaurants, churches, and Black-owned businesses that flourished here.

But the Fillmore also bears the scars of displacement, redlining and neglect. The Mini Park itself was part of a larger “urban renewal” effort known as the Western Addition A-2 redevelopment program implemented by Redevelopment Agency in 1966. The program razed large swaths of the neighborhood, uprooting thousands of Black families who owned homes and businesses here."

https://www.sfexaminer.com/fixes/in-rush-to-open-new-s-f-parks-one-neighborhood-got-left-behind/

In rush to open new S.F. parks, one neighborhood got left behind - The San Francisco Examiner ‘It feels abandoned because it has been’

"Pamela Axelson, a neighbor who led the project on the once trash-strewn hillside and graffiti-marked concrete steps, says: “Like ours, most mosaic stairways grow out of a movement within a community to improve something that may have been an eyesore or just could be so much more beautiful. The city supports community projects like this because they build relationships among neighbors, safer and more supportive communities, and friendships among people who would not have met otherwise.”

Also in the Excelsior, a waterfall mosaic swirls in shades of blue from cobalt to aqua, splashed across a stairway located in Kenny Alley. I find it on Mission Street between France and Italy avenues, a corridor packed with Mexican, Salvadoran, and Filipino eateries. Comprising glass stones, tiles, and mirrors that glint in the sunlight, the stairs lead up to London Street. The walls of Kenny Alley are adorned with a mural featuring mountains, the ocean, and local flora and fauna (bears, fish, eagles, and poppies).

For the staircase design, “We intended to play off the mural already in the alley,” says Summer Koide, a member of the group Friends of Kenny Alley, who helped transform the former dumping ground.

Muralist Matt Christensen, a high school art teacher, referred his colleague, mosaicist Kim Jensen, for the job of designing the staircase. Her waterfall design was embraced by community groups, and tiles were made and assembled primarily by her students. Community volunteers also contributed, including Koide, who made some from home during her maternity leave.

“Before, the alley looked pretty atrocious,” says Koide, “Now, it’s a jewel.”

https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/san-francisco-mosaic-stairways/

San Francisco's mosaic staircases turn forgotten places into colorful art | Roadtrippers The California city is the hilliest in the U.S., with more than 600 public stairways, some of which are decorated with beautiful mosaics.

"As explained in a column by former Chronicle librarian Bill Van Niekerken, 51-year-old Friedel Klussmann, already a regular in the society pages, formed A Citizens Committee to Save the Cable Cars, persuading the Board of Supervisors to put transportation measure Proposition 10 on the November 1947 ballot. The measure would keep the cars under Muni and Public Utilities Commission stewardship, ensuring their survival.

After that passed overwhelmingly, Klussmann fought to move the dying California Street line under Muni stewardship, and supported a second fight to save the cable cars, a $10 million fundraising effort led by Mayor Dianne Feinstein in 1982. The Chronicle enthusiastically supported the 1982 efforts, and in 2018 and 2019 sponsored decorated cable cars for the Christmas season.

Klussmann, who died in 1986, would no doubt side with Chronicle columnist Heather Knight, who called last week for a quick-as-possible return of cable cars to city streets. The Chronicle’s anti-cable car role was revealed while researching a pro-cable car Total SF podcast episode co-hosted by Knight.

Muni head Jeffrey Tumlin pledged that cable cars will return at an unspecified date, while floating the possibility of a revenue measure in 2022 to close budget deficits. An organized anti-cable car effort in 2021 has not emerged.

While other anti-cable car forces softened their stance in 1947, The Chronicle remained steadfast opponents until the end, gently mocking the growing pro-cable car forces that could no longer be ignored in coverage. Meanwhile, reporting revealed the super-buses to be mere mortals; it would cost the city a fortune to rip up slippery brick streets, so the buses wouldn’t slide down the steep Powell Street grades that cable cars had negotiated for decades.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/A-shame-revealed-That-time-The-Chronicle-tried-15980305.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headlines&utm_campaign=sfc_morningfix&sid=5632c3dd18ff43f0658ba126 -20654836

A shame revealed: That time The Chronicle tried to kill the cable cars The Chronicle was once part of a drive to hasten the extinction of cable cars in San...

San Francisco CAN NOT lose our Cable Cars!

"The SFMTA will probably place a revenue measure on the ballot next year to help close the deficit, Tumlin said. If San Franciscans don’t pass it, the cable cars’ metaphorical gravestone could read, “Born, 1873. Delighted locals and tourists alike. Starred in Rice-a-Roni commercials and a Tony Bennett song. Defined San Francisco. Died in 2023 at age 150 because everything got too expensive.”

San Franciscans, we can’t let that happen. We’ve lost too much due to the pandemic already, and there’s too much wealth and ingenuity in our city to lose the cable cars.

It was heartbreaking talking to Byron Cobb, the city’s eight-time cable car bell ringing champion, whose smile seemed to stretch as wide as California Street, the line he’s worked as a gripman for decades.

“You’re not going to go to Disneyland if the rides aren’t running, and you’re not going to go to San Francisco if these aren’t running,” said Arne Hansen, superintendent of the cable car barn, who used to love his job, but not so much anymore. “It’s so sad keeping these things locked up.”

He’s convinced city officials have wanted to get rid of what they view as expensive, inefficient relics for decades — and it’s true cable cars were almost killed off in the early 1980s before Feinstein saved them with a fundraising and PR campaign.

“The pandemic gave them a bullet for the gun,” Cobb said."

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/San-Francisco-s-cable-cars-are-part-of-the-15964922.php

San Francisco's cable cars are part of the city's identity. We need a plan to bring them back soon San Francisco’s beloved cable cars haven’t run in nearly a year — and might not be...

"Masks are required, and only one adult per household should be present to maximize space for children. Rec and Parks’ playground rules have always restricted adults from entering unless they are accompanying a child.

There are capacity limits set for different types of play equipment, and some attractions such as slides and sandboxes have locations marked where it is safe for a kid or a household to wait their turn.

No eating or drinking will be permitted, and toys shouldn’t be shared between households. If others are present, or the capacity limits have been met, play time should be limited to 30 minutes or less.

Despite the new restrictions, the playgrounds’ reopening provides a welcome diversion, especially in the Tenderloin, which has the highest density of children per capita in the city.

The dense neighborhood, packed with transit and emergency response routes, struggled to attain any access to Slow Streets closures. Some neighborhoods saw full street closures just over one month after shelter-in-place was ordered, but the Tenderloin’s first partial street closure didn’t take effect until August. Meanwhile, tent-crowded sidewalks discouraged many families from spending time outdoors.

Now the neighborhood can welcome kids back to Boeddeker Park and Helen Diller Civic Center playgrounds, as well as two smaller playgrounds that were under construction up until the shelter-in-place. https://hoodline.com/2020/10/playgrounds-reopen-across-the-city-including-two-newly-revamped-tenderloin-parks?utm_source=individual-stories&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=stories

Playgrounds reopen across the city, including two newly revamped Tenderloin parks The city's 180+ playgrounds reopened yesterday, including two recently-remodeled parks in the Tenderloin.

"Poet, performer and provocateur Ruth Weiss, 92, died on July 31 of natural causes at her Mendocino County home.

She leaves behind a remarkable legacy in San Francisco's literary scene — most notably the Beat movement, of which she is often referred to as the "mother."

From the 1950s to the present day, Weiss wrote 23 books, directed films, created theatrical play and performed her unique hybrid of jazz and poetry across America and Europe. Herb Caen even dubbed her the "goddess of the Beat Generation."

A documentary about her life, "Ruth Weiss: The Beat Goddess," was completed last year and is currently touring the festival circuit. But Weiss herself wasn't enthusiastic about the moniker.

"I don’t quite like the term Beat; bohemian would be more appropriate for me," Weiss once told Peter Maravelis, events director at City Lights Bookstore. She saw herself as part of a long tradition of bohemia and the burlesque.

In 1952, after hearing about San Francisco’s majestic fog, Weiss hitchhiked her way to the city. She would make her home there for the next three decades, before ​moving in 1980 to redwood forest of Albion, California with her husband, Paul Blake.

When Weiss first landed in the city, she rented a room at 1010 Montgomery St., where Allen Ginsberg also later resided. She later moved to the Hotel Wentley on Polk Street, where Jack Kerouac would visit, and they would write back and forth to each other in haiku.

Despite Weiss' deep involvement in the Beat scene, she never quite gained the notoriety of her male cohorts: Ginsberg, Kerouac, Gary Snyder and Michael McClure."

https://hoodline.com/2020/08/remembering-ruth-weiss-north-beach-poet-and-provocateur?utm_source=individual-stories&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=stories

Remembering Ruth Weiss, North Beach poet and provocateur Weiss, who passed away on July 31, was dubbed the "goddess of the Beat Generation" by Herb Caen.

Yahoo!!

"After a four-month closure, the Japanese Tea Garden will reopen tomorrow, joining the nearby San Francisco Botanical Garden on the list of reopened public amenities in Golden Gate Park.

The garden, which has remained closed since March 17, will open for up to 100 people at a time during restricted hours, every Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended.

Originally built as part of a model village for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exhibition, the tea garden is a showcase of traditional Japanese landscaping, architecture and design.

The reopening will take place even as the garden's pagoda remains under scaffolding, as part of a $2 million restoration project. "
https://hoodline.com/2020/07/japanese-tea-garden-to-reopen-with-new-restrictions-in-place?utm_source=individual-stories&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=stories

Japanese Tea Garden to reopen, with new restrictions in place Closed since March 17, the garden will reduce its hours and limit capacity for its reopening.

"While San Franciscans continue to shelter in place due to COVID-19, physically distanced outdoor events such as front porch performances and pickup truck concerts have emerged as ways for neighbors to continue seeing each other safely.

Now, the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) has a new one planned for Saturday, July 18: a collaborative event to create what they hope will be the world's longest hopscotch route.

Dubbed "Hopscotch Your Block," NOPNA invites the local community out to help draw one continuous four mile long hopscotch course in a single day. (The current Guinness World Record for the longest hopscotch game is right around that length.)
https://hoodline.com/2020/07/hop-to-it-nopa-neighbors-to-attempt-world-record-hopscotch-course-on-saturday?utm_source=individual-stories&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=stories

Hop to it: NoPa neighbors to attempt world-record hopscotch course on Saturday The neighborhood event also highlights offerings from local merchants, offering a small discount at area businesses.

"After years of traveling to Potrero Hill or the Mission for groceries, residents of Dogpatch have much reason to rejoice: the neighborhood finally has its own grocery store.

Tipster David G. wrote to Hoodline that Mainstay Markets (655 22nd Street) opened last week. "Everyone in the neighborhood here is very excited about it," he said. "It has been in need for such a long time."

Still in its soft opening phase, the store is currently about 75% full, according to Grocery Director Frankie Hernandez. "We're leaving space in the store so that we can adjust based on customer feedback," he said. "This will enable us to bring in more items that the neighborhood wants." https://hoodline.com/2020/07/after-long-wait-dogpatch-finally-gets-a-neighborhood-grocery-store?utm_source=individual-stories&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=stories

After long wait, Dogpatch finally gets a neighborhood grocery store The new market, currently in its soft opening, brings fresh produce and essential goods to an area that has previously been called a “food desert.”

"In a city with a vast visual iconography, cable cars stand out, as much a fixture as the Painted Lady Victorians or the Transamerica Pyramid. The Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason and California lines trundled each day from one historic landmark to another, cresting Nob Hill and delivering tourists to crooked Lombard Street or Ghirardelli Square. Every year a handful of gripmen and women compete in the annual bell-ringing contest.

Cassandra Griffin fondly remembers the time she stepped up to compete in 2016 — the first woman to ever jockey for the coveted bell-ringing title. She wore black heels with her uniform.

“I was just so happy to leave my print there for my kids,” Griffin said, recalling her soft, improvised melody that captivated onlookers, even though she didn’t win. Griffin grew up in San Francisco’s Ingleside neighborhood, and has worked as a cable car conductor for 19 years. By Muni standards, she’s a seasoned veteran: it takes five or six years to build enough seniority to enter the cable car division.

The symbolism of cable cars is so potent that at times they’ve become shorthand for San Francisco values. In 2017, the Powell-Hyde line appeared in a series of GOP-funded political ads in Georgia, which portrayed Democratic congressional candidate Jon Ossoff as a tool of San Francisco liberals.

“They’re such a part of our culture,” said John Konstin, co-owner of the old-timey Union Square restaurant John’s Grill, which sits a block and a half away from the Powell Street turntable. He has wistful memories of the cable cars despite their tragic history at the restaurant — legend has it that one of the original co-owners, John Monaco, died after a cable car ran him over.

“That’s the way I want to go,” quipped the restaurant’s longtime publicist, Lee Houskeeper, noting that “only a true San Franciscan” dies under the wheels of a rattling 9-mile-an-hour contraption.

A crowd waits to board a cable car Sept. 23 at Powell and Market. With no way to protect the operator from passenger contact, the cars will remain idle during the pandemic.
A crowd waits to board a cable car Sept. 23 at Powell and Market. With no way to protect the operator from passenger contact, the cars will remain idle during the pandemic.
Photo: Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle 2019
Cable cars do emerge occasionally, leaving the barn at 1201 Mason St. for maintenance runs.

Longtime gripman Rico Ellis said he’s sitting at home in the Ingleside waiting for the Powell-Hyde line to start running again. He worked on cable cars for 20 years and even started an R&B band with fellow operators.

Ellis vividly remembers his last run in March, from Market Street to Union Square, up Nob Hill and down to Hyde and Beach streets.

“I’m ready to come back,” he said.

San Francisco Chronicle We deliver the Bay Area’s best journalism. Subscribe and support the newsroom: SFChronicle.com

"When the shelter-in-place mandate came down, Solinas — who lives in the Mission District — headed downtown to paint landmarks like the Salesforce Tower. But he quickly got bored.

“I wanted something more real," he said. "I connected with some African-American artists, and they told me that I should travel to the Bayview District to paint."

The first place he visited was Sam Jordan's, the historic bar that closed last year after its owners became victims of predatory lending.

"I saw the 'for sale' sign and thought, 'Damn, what a shame,'" Solinas said. Inspired, he got out of his car, sat on the sidewalk and created what became the first in a series of paintings of Bayview businesses. "
https://hoodline.com/2020/07/artist-rico-salinas-paints-the-bayview-district-one-building-at-a-time?utm_source=individual-stories&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=stories

Artist Rico Solinas paints the Bayview District, one building at a time Salinas has turned shelter-in-place into an art project, painting more than 50 Bayview landmarks from his sidewalk perch.

"Earlier this month, It's Tops Coffee Shop closed its doors permanently. Owned by the Chapman family for 68 years, the Market Street diner was a longtime favorite for early-morning breakfasts and late-night revelry. Photos of the removal of its iconic neon sign led to an outpouring of grief on social media.

Bruce and Sheila Chapman, who took over the diner in 1986 from their father, Richard, didn't comment on the closure at the time. But we were finally able to reach Bruce, who explained that like so many restaurants, It's Tops is a casualty of COVID-19.

Like every other San Francisco restaurant, It's Tops closed its dining room on March 16 to comply with the city's shelter-in-place order. Even in the days leading up to the order, business was already down, Bruce said, noting that he'd had no customers on the Saturday prior.

The diner has a long history, spanning 85 years. First opened in 1935, it was known as "The Top Cafe" or "The Minute Man's"; the name change to "It's Tops" came about a decade later, as did the addition of the soda fountain and the neon sign.

In 1952, Richard Chapman, known as "Dick," purchased the diner, adding the vinyl booths and tabletop jukeboxes. The Chapman siblings grew up waiting tables and cleaning the space before buying it outright from their dad.

While Bruce doesn't know what the future will hold for the It's Tops space, he says he felt responsible for taking care of the sign.

"I didn't want to leave it there," he explained, noting the potential risk of the unattended neon — which is 18 feet tall, five feet wide, and weighs close to 900 pounds — falling on a passerby.

After it was removed by cranes last month, the sign was dismantled and stored in a safe place. Bruce plans to mount parts of it in his own house down the line."

'We didn't get to say goodbye': It's Tops owner Bruce Chapman on the tough decision to close "It's very upsetting," said Chapman, whose family owned the diner for 68 years. "I didn't plan this kind of closure."

"Now, San Francisco has its own "Black Lives Matter" street mural.

This morning, over 100 Fillmore District residents and allies came out to paint the message on Fulton Street between Webster and Octavia streets. Like the D.C. installation, it appears in bright yellow block letters.

The project is the brainchild of twin sisters Melonie and Melorra Green, who are the co-executive directors of the African American Art & Cultural Complex, and Tyra Fennell, of urban art nonprofit Imprint City.

Local artists Malik Seneferu and Andre Jones (a.k.a. Nattie Rebe) also contributed to the effort, intended to express solidarity with the ongoing nationwide movement fighting racism and police brutality.

"Today is so special, because Black Lives Matter is coming to San Francisco, at the epicenter of the black community," Melorra Green told Hoodline. "The Fillmore, Bayview, Sunnydale — all these communities are San Francisco. There are pioneers here who have paved the way for this community to thrive."

https://hoodline.com/2020/06/100-volunteers-paint-black-lives-matter-in-center-of-san-francisco-street?utm_source=individual-stories&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=stories

100+ volunteers paint 'Black Lives Matter' in center of San Francisco street San Francisco now has its own streetside "Black Lives Matter" mural, inspired by the one painted last week in Washington, D.C.

Looks like we are losing another old San Francisco friend...

Signage removed from historic It's Tops Coffee Shop, sparking closure rumors The iconic neon sign at Market and Octavia streets was removed on Wednesday.

"38 years ago, Jesse Fink founded the shop with his then-girlfriend (now-wife) Roberta. Now, the couple are ready to retire and pass on the business, which has been closed since the shelter-in-place order came down in March.

The pandemic was a "knock on the door" for the couple, who've "spent more time together in the last two and a half months than we have in years," Fink said.

"It was just time, after 38 years, to make a decision," said Fink, noting that he turned 67 last month. "It wasn't an easy decision, because obviously, I love Toy Boat. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions, and this was one of those difficult decisions."

After 38 years, Toy Boat Dessert Cafe is up for sale "It was just time," says owner Jesse Fink of the decision to sell his legacy business, a Richmond District favorite.

Help inspire San Francisco with art!

"Castro vitamin and supplement store Active Nutrition (2275 Market St.) has closed permanently after 20 years in business.

Tipster Rich V. informed us of the closure, noting that the business had been open as an essential retailer during the shelter-in-place before shutting down earlier this week.

Active Nutrition's owner, Phillip Rennick, confirmed the closure to Hoodline, as well as in a letter to customers on Facebook.

"Things were looking bad pre-COVID; it was just the final nail in the coffin," Rennick told Hoodline. "It was a nice 20-year run."

Castro vitamin & supplement store Active Nutrition closes after 20 years "It has been like the Castro’s own version of 'Cheers,' and we loved being your bartenders," said owner Phillip Rennick.

"A decade after its original debut, the "Haight Street Rat" has entered a new, socially responsible phase of its life.

Originally painted by famed graffiti artist Banksy on a 2010 jaunt around San Francisco, the rat now wears a blue surgical mask, in a nod to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The artist who contributed to the update is unknown, but the rat's origins are well-documented.

Painted on the eastern elevation of the Red Victorian — then a landmark bed and breakfast, now a collective living space — the rat appeared overnight back in April 2010. It originally held a marker, alongside the words "This is where I draw the line."

Sami Sunchild, the then-owner of the Red Vic, gave art collector Brian Grief permission to cut the installation off the building in 2012. It became part of a traveling Banksy exhibition, touring galleries in locales as far-flung as Miami.

Grief offered the piece as a donation to SFMOMA, but the museum declined to take it without approval from Banksy. The painting's removal, and the thorny landscape around street art, ownership and artist approval, ultimately became the subject of a 2017 documentary, "Saving Banksy."

Sometime in 2017 — also apparently overnight — the rat was reinstalled by an unknown artist or artists, in an extremely close approximation of the original work.

Is the mask the work of the same group? As with Banksy's identity, we may never know. But if you know who's behind it, send us a tip."

Banksy's 'Haight Street Rat' dons a new garment A decade after its original debut, the "Haight Street Rat" has entered a new, socially responsible phase of its life.

"Several groups of Upper Haight residents and business owners are opposing the city's planned "safe sleeping site" in the neighborhood, with one group — led by the owner of record store Amoeba Music, which borders the site — considering legal action.

Last week, District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston announced that the city-owned former McDonald's lot at 730 Stanyan St. would be turned into the district's first tent village for unhoused people, as a response to the COVID-19 emergency.

But over the past week, neighbors have begun lining up against the temporary tent village. The Cole Valley Improvement Association (CVIA), Buena Vista Park Neighborhood Association, Haight Ashbury Improvement Association, and a newly minted anonymous group of neighbors called Safe Healthy Haight have all signed formal letters of opposition to the city's use of the site as a shelter.

The potential legal action against the city is being led by another new group, dubbed Concerned Citizens of the Haight. Joe Goldmark, the managing partner of Amoeba Music, confirmed to Hoodline that he is steering the effort and working with a legal team.

"We're contemplating our legal alternatives," said Goldmark, whose store (currently closed under the shelter-in-place order) borders the proposed safe sleeping site. Paul Geffner of Escape From New York Pizza, which is located a few doors down from the site, has also joined the effort.

The various groups' concerns about the safe sleeping site center largely on public safety. In its letter, the CVIA says that it's concerned about "the risk of COVID-19 outbreak and spread in the community, [with] this location being in a high-foot-traffic area that residents depend on."

Neighbors, led by Amoeba Music owner, consider legal action against Haight tent village Several Haight neighborhood groups have opposed the "safe sleeping site," and one, led by Amoeba Music and Escape From New York's owners, is considering a lawsuit.

"Originally scheduled for June 27 and 28, San Francisco Pride was initially expected to draw more than a million people from around the world to San Francisco.

The virtual programming will be "a weekend-long tribute to LGBTQ+ luminaries and q***r solidarity," according to Pride's board of directors, including film screenings, performances, live interviews, and more. Here's a look at the schedule, including links, ticket info and more. All events are free unless otherwise noted."

San Francisco Pride announces online events for 50th anniversary celebration San Francisco Pride released a schedule of virtual programs for its 50th anniversary this summer, including a first-ever LED-lit Pink Triangle.