SF Daily Brief for October 26, 2026
Today on the SF Daily Brief: “Polls put Wiener ahead of Chan, but monolingual Chinese voters could give Chan needed boost,” plus “Can SF’s Empty Offices Be Housing?”
- Polls put Wiener ahead of Chan, but monolingual Chinese voters could give Chan needed boost
- Can SF’s Empty Offices Be Housing?
- Bidding wars and billionaires: Welcome to San Francisco’s new $10M neighborhoods
- S.F. police arrest woman for fatal Tenderloin hit-and-run
- Him Mark Lai library branch to close Dec. 5 for renovation
- Joe Hisaishi conducts new work with the San Francisco Symphony
- Harris or Newsom? SF voters pick hometown favorite for 2028 matchup
- Three preschool dads are bringing elite rotisserie to the Sunset
- Driver abandoned vehicle inside Muni tunnel in ‘hit and run,’ S.F. police say
- San Francisco’s John’s Grill cancels free Election Day lunch to honor co-owner’s death
- Ex-Manny Yekutiel spokesman now works at Anthropic, another S.F. political staffer at an AI giant
- The 49ers’ first loss: Brutal turnovers and bad penalties cost San Francisco in Atlanta
Transcript
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Good morning, San Francisco. It is Monday, October 26, 2026, and this is SF Daily Brief. We begin with the House race between Scott Wiener and Connie Chan. Mission Local has compiled every publicly released poll in that race since the primary. The polls put Wiener ahead.
The outlet also looks at whether monolingual Chinese-speaking voters could close the gap for Chan. That question is the focus of Mission Local's look at the race. We turn to office space in San Francisco. The city's office vacancy rate is around 30% after the pandemic.
KQED reports that 150 Hayes Street in the Civic Center is one office building being converted to apartments. The outlet speaks with two developers about what these conversions take. The report looks at the work behind turning empty offices into housing. The building is one example of an office conversion.
Home prices are part of the same conversation about the city's changing real estate. The Standard reports San Francisco has a new crop of neighborhoods where homes sell for $10 million or more. The story covers bidding wars and billionaires in these neighborhoods. Luxury home prices are up 30% to 40%.
The report describes these as the city's new $10 million neighborhoods. In the Tenderloin, San Francisco police have arrested a woman in connection with a fatal hit-and-run. Mission Local reports officers took her into custody on Treasure Island. The case is a fatal hit-and-run.
In Chinatown, the Him Mark Lai library branch will close December 5 for a 30-month renovation. Sing Tao reports a San Francisco Public Library staffer told the outlet. A temporary branch opens December 19 at 950 Grant Avenue. A farewell party is planned for November 21.
From the concert hall, the 75-year-old Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi conducted his new Concerto for Orchestra with the San Francisco Symphony last weekend, World Journal reports. In local politics, a poll of San Francisco voters found Gavin Newsom the hometown favorite over Kamala Harris in a hypothetical 2028 matchup. The Standard reports the result in its Power Play newsletter. The newsletter also covers city unions holding out for richer contracts, Newsom's silence on the race for Nancy Pelosi's House seat, and Manny Yekutiel's campaign debt.
In the Sunset, three preschool dads are bringing elite rotisserie to the neighborhood. The Standard reports the three friends, with years in the restaurant business, are opening Bare Bones, a rotisserie restaurant. The menu includes porchetta. San Francisco police say that when they arrived at the mouth of the Muni tunnel they found an abandoned car, damaged city property and no driver.
Mission Local reports the case is being handled as a hit-and-run. In dining news, John's Grill and former Mayor Willie Brown will not hold their free Election Day lunch this year. Local News Matters reports the lunch is canceled after co-owner Sydna Konstin died of heart failure in June at 41. Her brother and business partner John Konstin Jr. said the Ellis Street block party will return in the future.
In staffing news, a former spokesman for supervisor candidate Manny Yekutiel now works at Anthropic. Mission Local reports the move. The outlet names other San Francisco political staffers who have moved to Anthropic and OpenAI, including a former assistant district attorney. In sports, the 49ers lost 29-20 to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The Standard reports it was their first defeat of the season. Turnovers and penalties cost San Francisco, which fell to 6-1. Thanks for listening to SF Daily Brief. For the full written brief, including all of today's stories, go to sfdailybrief.com.