SF Daily Brief for October 28, 2026
Today on the SF Daily Brief: “Feds investigate SFUSD ethnic studies course for possibly violating parental rights,” plus “Anthropic's IPO could add pressure to San Francisco's housing market.”
- Feds investigate SFUSD ethnic studies course for possibly violating parental rights
- Anthropic's IPO could add pressure to San Francisco's housing market
- Mayor Lurie’s popularity is high, but has softened, latest polls show
- San Francisco Embarcadero Floods as Tides Peak 2 Feet Above Normal
- Glide Worker Killed in Tenderloin Hit-and-Run, Family Says His Three Children Need Support
- With kennels full, SF moves to curb dog breeding and shorten shelter stays
- Prop A. was written to simplify city government. It could also bring back Aaron Peskin.
- Scott Wiener and Connie Chan Fight to Represent SF in Congress
- As election looms, the race for District 10 heats up, and gets complicated
- SFMTA Shares Photos of Stabbing Suspect From 5-Fulton Bus Incident
- Scott Wiener touts legislative record, courts Chinese-speaking voters
- The 49ers answer the Seahawks’ splash with a trade for DeForest Buckner
Transcript
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Welcome to SF Daily Brief. It's Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Here is what is happening around San Francisco today. The U.S. Department of Education is investigating San Francisco Unified's ethnic studies course.
The Standard reports that the investigation concerns possible violations of parental rights. The department said students were asked for potentially protected information about their families. New money could also bring new pressure to the city's housing market. Anthropic filed for an initial public offering on October 26, and World Journal reports the listing is expected to send a large flow of money into San Francisco's economy.
The paper says the new wealth could worsen pressure on a housing market that is already highly competitive. At City Hall, new polls compiled by Mission Local show Mayor Daniel Lurie's popularity is down about 10 percentage points from its recent high. The outlet reports his approval remains high overall. Along the waterfront, high tides brought flooding to San Francisco.
Tides peaked at 2.1 feet above normal on Tuesday, and seawater covered part of the Embarcadero, KQED reports. The city closed a stretch of sidewalk and the bike lane near Pier 14. The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood advisory for low-lying areas around the Bay Area. A Port of San Francisco spokesperson tied the high water to the coming El Niño.
In the Tenderloin, a Glide worker was killed in a hit-and-run crash. Justin Randle, a safety monitor at Glide, was killed early Sunday by a hit-and-run driver near Ellis and Polk streets, SFist reports. A family fundraiser says his three children are now in relatives' care and need support. The fundraiser also says the mother of his children is in custody.
San Francisco's animal shelters are full. With kennels full, the city is moving to curb dog breeding and shorten shelter stays. The PAWS Act would limit dog breeding to show dogs and shorten how long animals are held in city shelters, the Standard reports. The proposal is billed as a public safety measure.
On the November ballot, Prop. A was written to simplify city government. Mission Local reports it could also undo June's term limits measure, Prop. B, and open a path back for former supervisor Aaron Peskin.
The city attorney denies that Prop. A would invalidate Prop. B. The outlet reports not everyone is so certain. In the race for Congress, KQED's program discusses the contest between Supervisor Connie Chan and state Sen. Scott Wiener for California's 11th Congressional District.
The seat is the one Nancy Pelosi is retiring from. The episode compares where the two candidates stand on major issues. The race for District 10 supervisor is heating up and getting complicated. Mission Local looks at the district, where a billionaire's 540,000-dollar political donation is the central question in a chronically underfunded district.
The outlet asks whether the money could backfire on its beneficiary. The SFMTA put out an internal flyer with surveillance photos of the man suspected of stabbing a passenger on a 5-Fulton Owl bus early Monday near McAllister and Laguna streets, SFist reports. The suspect fled and remains at large. The victims' injuries were not life-threatening.
State Sen. Scott Wiener met Chinese-language media in Chinatown on Monday to describe bills he advanced this year on solar power, immigration enforcement and transit funding, Sing Tao reports. He said his House campaign is reaching Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking voters by phone and door-knocking in his race against Supervisor Connie Chan. In sports, the 49ers agreed to trade for defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. The trade brings him back to the team hours after Seattle acquired guard Quenton Nelson from the Colts, the Standard reports.
San Francisco is 6-1 going into its bye week. That is the brief for Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Thank you for listening to SF Daily Brief. For the full written brief, including all of today's stories, go to sfdailybrief.com.