News Columnists

Former Supervisor Vallie Brown, left, and current Supervisor Dean Preston will face off again in November. Preston narrowly defeated Brown in 2019. (Examiner file photos)

District 5 race presents a challenge for moderates

Despite support for London Breed, neighborhood continues to lean progressive by most measures

  • Jun 28, 2020
Former Supervisor Vallie Brown, left, and current Supervisor Dean Preston will face off again in November. Preston narrowly defeated Brown in 2019. (Examiner file photos)
Sky-high rents and the coronavirus have made it difficult to live in the Bay Area. (Courtesy photo)

Down and out in the Bay Area

I’m about to become homeless.

Sky-high rents and the coronavirus have made it difficult to live in the Bay Area. (Courtesy photo)
”I’m hearing about a large uptick in the amount of plastic bags and disposable foodware on the beaches,” said Eben Schwartz, outreach manager for the California Coastal Commission. (Courtesy photo)

Green Space: Stop trashing San Francisco

The pandemic has increased the use of single-use bags and take-out containers throughout The City

”I’m hearing about a large uptick in the amount of plastic bags and disposable foodware on the beaches,” said Eben Schwartz, outreach manager for the California Coastal Commission. (Courtesy photo)
Sofia Zanfagna, a recent graduate of San Francisco’s International High School, celebrated the milestone with a family gathering. (Courtesy Zanfagna family)

Class of 2020 confronts uncertain future

International High School graduate Sofia Zanfagna stays motivated to make a better future

Sofia Zanfagna, a recent graduate of San Francisco’s International High School, celebrated the milestone with a family gathering. (Courtesy Zanfagna family)
Protesters block and close the Golden Gate Bridge to traffic during a march supporting Black Lives Matter on June 6. (Chris Victorio/Special to S.F. Examiner)

You are an Antifa member, you just don’t know it

Antifa isn’t an organization; there is no president or treasurer, there’s not even a GoFundMe.

Protesters block and close the Golden Gate Bridge to traffic during a march supporting Black Lives Matter on June 6. (Chris Victorio/Special to S.F. Examiner)
Roxie Washington (R) and Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, attend his funeral service in the chapel at the Fountain of Praise church on June 9 in Houston, Texas. (Tribune News Service)

In Brown Type: Fatherless on Father’s Day

“What do you want people to know?” asked Eva Pilgrim, an anchor…

Roxie Washington (R) and Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, attend his funeral service in the chapel at the Fountain of Praise church on June 9 in Houston, Texas. (Tribune News Service)
Rents will likely continue to fall and many small landlords will go bust. And then their properties will be snapped up not by ethical collectives of some kind but by big management companies. (Courtesy photo)

Market Musings: The pandemic is putting some San Francisco landlords in crisis

We have this image of “the landlord” — this predatory, over-funded, 1980s yuppie meme, polo shirt-wearing tech bro.

Rents will likely continue to fall and many small landlords will go bust. And then their properties will be snapped up not by ethical collectives of some kind but by big management companies. (Courtesy photo)
The decision to make change for a large bill in a cab offers food for thought. Courtesy photo

I Drive SF: The consequences of a fake bill

Even though I have a counterfeit testing pen in my bag, it just isn’t worth starting trouble

The decision to make change for a large bill in a cab offers food for thought. Courtesy photo
Air monitoring equipment sits in a field below a development at Hunters Point Shipyard, where concerns linger about radioactive contamination. Kevin N. Hume/ S.F. Examiner

Green Space: Environmental groups fight for racial justice

Environmental justice activists have long fought some of these systemic acts of racial violence that are often less reported in the news

Air monitoring equipment sits in a field below a development at Hunters Point Shipyard, where concerns linger about radioactive contamination. Kevin N. Hume/ S.F. Examiner
Author and activist Thea Matthews, pictured in the Mission, recently released a poetry collection “UnEarth [The Flowers].” (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

Thea Matthews wants justice ‘on a micro and macro level’

‘Pandemic or not, enough is enough’

Author and activist Thea Matthews, pictured in the Mission, recently released a poetry collection “UnEarth [The Flowers].” (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
A sketch by San Francisco high-schooler Nashae Mims reflects the stress of growing up in the projects. (Courtesy photo)

In Brown Type: Lessons of trauma color the experiences of black children

A high schooler’s artwork frames this moment of disrepair in the country

A sketch by San Francisco high-schooler Nashae Mims reflects the stress of growing up in the projects. (Courtesy photo)
Protesters sit and kneel outside the Mission Police Station during a protest over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd on Saturday. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

It’s time for you to decide: Which side are you on?

You’re either on the side that is actively fighting to end violent, systemic racism or you’re helping maintain the original sin

Protesters sit and kneel outside the Mission Police Station during a protest over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd on Saturday. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
Companies such as Twitter have said that employees can opt to work at home indefinitely, but is that a good thing for San Francisco? (Courtesy photo) Companies such as Twitter have said that employees can opt to work at home indefinitely, but is that a good thing for San Francisco? Courtesy photo

How a permanent working-from-home scenario would harm San Francisco

The depth of nothing good in this scenario is impressive

Companies such as Twitter have said that employees can opt to work at home indefinitely, but is that a good thing for San Francisco? (Courtesy photo) Companies such as Twitter have said that employees can opt to work at home indefinitely, but is that a good thing for San Francisco? Courtesy photo
Living under quarantine has provided the opportunity for some teens to spend time writing and playing music. (Courtesy photo)

Pandemic steals youth but imparts life lessons

Class of 2020’s resilience, optimism and concern for others inspires

Living under quarantine has provided the opportunity for some teens to spend time writing and playing music. (Courtesy photo)
The future of the taxi industry couldn’t be more bleak. (Courtesy photo)

I Drive SF: Once a taxi driver, always a taxi driver

It’s hard to believe I haven’t driven a cab in three months

The future of the taxi industry couldn’t be more bleak. (Courtesy photo)
Advocates say San Francisco agencies need to increase tree planting in The City as well as ensure that trees aren’t unnecessarily removed. Courtesy photo)

Green Space: Stop taking trees down

Growing SF’s urban canopy provides economic, environmental benefits

Advocates say San Francisco agencies need to increase tree planting in The City as well as ensure that trees aren’t unnecessarily removed. Courtesy photo)
Activist Leroy Moore, who lives in Berkeley, says the disability rights movement began in the Bay Area. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

Krip-Hop Nation’s Leroy F. Moore Jr. is a born fighter

Pandemic won’t slow this artist, disability rights educator and activist

Activist Leroy Moore, who lives in Berkeley, says the disability rights movement began in the Bay Area. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
Everyone’s feeling frustrated, fatigued, anguished and angry during the coronavirus crisis. (Courtesy Aaron Blanco Tejedor/Unsplash)

As shelter-in-place goes on, exhaustion sets in

It’s harrowing to witness pandemic’s myriad impacts

Everyone’s feeling frustrated, fatigued, anguished and angry during the coronavirus crisis. (Courtesy Aaron Blanco Tejedor/Unsplash)
With incidents of hate against Asians and Asian Americans increasing during the pandemic, it’s time for people who witness such acts to step up. (Courtesy photo)

In Brown Type: History repeats as Asians bear the brunt of coronavirus rage

Our best defense against the virus of animosity is to present a collective front, in defiance of division, whether we are Asian or not

With incidents of hate against Asians and Asian Americans increasing during the pandemic, it’s time for people who witness such acts to step up. (Courtesy photo)
While hotels and airlines are major employers and hotels are major local taxpayers, homesharing — especially in a tourist-dependent city like San Francisco, is all of that and more. (Courtesy photo)

Market Musings: Why we should root for Airbnb

Of course, Airbnb hasn’t always been the most popular kid on the San Francisco block

While hotels and airlines are major employers and hotels are major local taxpayers, homesharing — especially in a tourist-dependent city like San Francisco, is all of that and more. (Courtesy photo)