Supervisor-elect Gary McCoy pushes converting a Castro gas station into housing
Gary McCoy, elected in November to represent District 8, said he still intends to turn a gas station in the Castro into housing and plans to inventory potential sites and speed up permitting after he is sworn in in January. The Castro has two gas stations, a Chevron and Castro Gas and Food Mart, according to SFGATE. A 2003 underground tank leak was investigated at the Chevron site, and a 2024 finding said residual soil contamination could pose a risk to development there.
Housing & Land Use2
Evictions rise in San Francisco as the AI boom pushes rents up
Eviction cases at San Francisco Superior Court have surged as the AI boom drives rents higher, and some landlords are using legal loopholes to push out tenants, according to SF Public Press. Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a rental emergency and said more than 1,000 eviction notices have been issued this year. The Rent Board's latest annual report showed nuisance eviction notices up 41% in the 12 months through February.
City Hall2
Airbnb Exec Donates $100 Million to San Francisco Parks in Record Gift to City
Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Monday that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is donating $100 million to the city's parks department, the largest gift San Francisco has received from a single donor. Lurie made the announcement at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park and said he hoped other San Francisco entrepreneurs would give too. Chesky, whose company is worth about $100 billion, said much of his success came from the city.
The CEO of Lurie-aligned downtown nonprofit is out after little more than a year
Shola Olatoye is out as chief executive of the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation, a nonprofit aligned with Mayor Daniel Lurie, after little more than a year in the job. The organization gave no reason for her departure. Olatoye is a longtime housing executive.
Public Safety3
Tenderloin Store Owner Ordered to Pay $151,000 to City Over Illegal Gambling Den
A judge ordered Mohsen Mused, owner of TL Market & Deli at Turk and Leavenworth streets, to pay $151,000 in penalties in a civil suit the City Attorney's Office brought over illegal gambling and sales of drug paraphernalia. Police raided the store in September 2024 and seized 16 gambling machines, including electronic slot machines, and a June narcotics raid found illegal tobacco, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to the City Attorney's Office. The judgment came Friday, Nov. 6.
Vigil: Rolando Jose Dusuau, ‘RJ,’ was teen ‘beyond his years’ who once wanted to be a paleontologist
Friends and family gathered on Potrero Hill Monday night to remember Rolando Jose Dusuau, known as RJ, nearly a month after he was fatally shot. They described a teenager beyond his years who once wanted to be a paleontologist.
Family of Chantel Brooks Keeps Search Alive With Benefit Concert, Upcoming SF Vigil
A benefit concert in Vallejo on Sunday raised money for the search for Chantel Brooks, who went missing in July, and her family is preparing a candlelight vigil outside her former workplace in San Francisco. Brooks, 37, was last seen leaving Hotel Le Nain, a supportive housing complex in the Tenderloin where she worked, shortly after midnight on July 17, according to KTVU.
Immigration1
Judge Orders Release of UC Berkeley Student From ICE Custody After SFO Arrest
A federal judge ordered the release of Paula Albornoz Hernandez, a 23-year-old UC Berkeley student detained by immigration agents at San Francisco International Airport, according to court records. Her attorney, Nikolas De Bremaeker, told KQED she was to leave a detention facility in California City on Monday after more than a week in custody. Albornoz Hernandez, a Colombian asylum seeker, had fled gender-based violence and was complying with her paperwork and hearings, De Bremaeker said.
Sports1
Kyle Shanahan on Brandon Aiyuk’s NFL reinstatement: ‘Means absolutely nothing’
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on Monday and granted the team a two-game roster exemption. Coach Kyle Shanahan said the reinstatement "means absolutely nothing" at this point.
Business & Tech1
This Florida firm wants to go on an SF office shopping spree
A Florida investment firm has bought 40 Jessie St. and is planning a larger portfolio of San Francisco office buildings. The purchases are among the first downtown deals by out-of-state investors as the city's office market shows new signs of activity.