SF Daily Brief for October 24, 2026

Welcome to SF Daily Brief. It's Saturday, October 24, 2026. Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a local emergency Friday to speed San Francisco's preparations for what the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center says could be a record-breaking El Niño winter. The declaration lets city departments skip some contracting rules to buy flood barriers, pumps, and generators.

It also lets the mayor move money between departments. The Climate Prediction Center put the chance of a record El Niño through the end of the year at 83 percent. In city politics, Governor Gavin Newsom endorsed Mayor Lurie's campaign for Propositions D, E, and F, the three charter reform measures on the November 3 ballot. The committee backing them has raised $13.5 million, according to the Standard.

In public health, San Francisco's health department is investigating two active tuberculosis cases tied to the Crazy Horse strip club on Market Street, the agency told NBC Bay Area. The first case was reported in early October, and contact tracing is continuing, the department said. It says the risk to the general public is low. Supervisor Bilal Mahmood shared a video from conservative activist Christopher Rufo about a Tenderloin halfway house for sex offenders.

Mahmood said state law ties the city's hands. Mission Local reports that people required to register as sex offenders can legally live at the facility. At the steps of San Francisco City Hall, SEIU Local 1021 and community groups held a "Defend the Vote" rally. They urged residents to vote and to help older and disabled neighbors get to the polls.

Supervisor Stephen Sherrill and union president Theresa Rutherford spoke in the rain. Election Day is November 3. Ronaldo Jose Dusuau, 17, was identified as the boy shot and killed October 16 next to the Potrero Hill Terrace and Annex housing project on Wisconsin Street. His mother, Christina Onopa, told Mission Local he had left their Mission District home about 13 minutes before the shooting.

She said she does not know why anyone would want to hurt him. San Francisco recorded 48 fatal overdoses in September, putting the year's total at 399, the health department said Friday. The count includes the city's first death from MGM-15, a kratom-derived opioid sold at gas stations and convenience stores in packaging marketed as a supplement. Hillary Kunins of the Department of Public Health said people should avoid products that do not come from reputable sources.

A San Francisco supervisorial candidate's son was arrested and charged this month with trying to shoot a man accused of assaulting his mother, the Chronicle reports. The candidate has campaigned on her own experience as a survivor of gun violence. Assemblymember Matt Haney announced endorsements from 52 fellow California Assembly members for his bid for the state Senate seat held by Scott Wiener. Wiener is running for Congress.

Supervisor Alan Wong called a hearing on street tree pruning and sidewalk repairs. He said Sunset District residents wait years for work orders to be finished. Public Works officials told the hearing that the city's first round of street tree maintenance under StreetTreeSF has run close to a decade, well past its three-to-five-year target. They said vacancies in arborist and cement mason jobs have slowed repairs.

With Election Day approaching, a poll by USC's Democracy and Fair Elections Lab, reported by SFGATE, put Scott Wiener at 47 percent and Connie Chan at 41 percent in the race for Nancy Pelosi's House seat. Nine percent were undecided. The survey of 454 likely voters was conducted October 16 to 19 and has a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points. Downtown, Mid-Market groups held a weekend arts festival as a first test of whether the neighborhood's theaters and arts organizations can draw people downtown.

The Standard reports that people involved in the effort say the arts could drive a revival like those seen in other parts of downtown. In sports, Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams, whose team trails Atlanta two games to one in the WNBA Finals, told the Standard she has had to get out of her comfort zone as a leader. The Standard reports she is known for leading by example. Thanks for listening.

For the full written brief, go to sfdailybrief.com.