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SFMTA workers install some of the final decorative panels at the platform level in Chinatown–Rose Pak Station on the new Central Subway line, which is projected to open for service in 2022. The agency began testing trains on the line last week. (Courtesy SFMTA) SFMTA workers install some of the final decorative panels at the platform level in Chinatown–Rose Pak Station on the new Central Subway line, which is projected to open for service in 2022. (Courtesy SFMTA)

SFMTA starts testing trains on Central Subway line

San Francisco’s Central Subway, a public transportation project criticized for being delayed…

SFMTA workers install some of the final decorative panels at the platform level in Chinatown–Rose Pak Station on the new Central Subway line, which is projected to open for service in 2022. The agency began testing trains on the line last week. (Courtesy SFMTA) SFMTA workers install some of the final decorative panels at the platform level in Chinatown–Rose Pak Station on the new Central Subway line, which is projected to open for service in 2022. (Courtesy SFMTA)
Cooks work in the kitchen at The Vault Garden. (Courtesy Hardy Wilson)

Help wanted: SF restaurants are struggling to staff up

Some small businesses have to ‘sweeten the pot’ when hiring workers

Cooks work in the kitchen at The Vault Garden. (Courtesy Hardy Wilson)
People walk along West Portal Avenue on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)

San Franciscans embrace caution as the masks go back on

When the news came out last week that masks were once again…

People walk along West Portal Avenue on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)
Even though most adults in San Francisco are fully vaccinated, some people are taking the precaution of continuing to wear masks, both indoors and outdoors, as COVID-19 continues to spread. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)

To mask or not to mask? We ask UCSF the questions

By Veronica Irwin Examiner staff writer The maskne scars had finally started…

  • Jul 20, 2021
Even though most adults in San Francisco are fully vaccinated, some people are taking the precaution of continuing to wear masks, both indoors and outdoors, as COVID-19 continues to spread. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)
California schools add yoga to help students relax and focus as they return to campus. (Photo Courtesy Nikki Curry)

More California schools adding yoga to school day

By Carolyn Jones EdSource To help students relax, some California schools are…

  • Jul 20, 2021
California schools add yoga to help students relax and focus as they return to campus. (Photo Courtesy Nikki Curry)
Caitlyn Jenner, a Republican candidate in the Gavin Newsom recall election, speaks to reporters at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento on July 9, 2021. (Photo by Marissa Garcia for CalMatters) Caitlyn Jenner, a Republican candidate in the Gavin Newsom recall election, speaks to reporters at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento on July 9, 2021. (Photo by Marissa Garcia for CalMatters)

Who is running against Newsom in the recall and what you need to know

By Jill Cowan NYTimes News Service We’re just about two months away…

  • Jul 20, 2021
Caitlyn Jenner, a Republican candidate in the Gavin Newsom recall election, speaks to reporters at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento on July 9, 2021. (Photo by Marissa Garcia for CalMatters) Caitlyn Jenner, a Republican candidate in the Gavin Newsom recall election, speaks to reporters at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento on July 9, 2021. (Photo by Marissa Garcia for CalMatters)
Right to Counsel Coordinator Tim Coltman goes over information with clients at the Eviction Defense Collaborative. San Francisco is expected to expand access to legal counsel for those facing eviction proceedings. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)

Tenants facing eviction cliff want lawyers: Here’s what San Francisco is doing about it

Back in 2018, San Francisco voters passed the country’s first ballot measure…

Right to Counsel Coordinator Tim Coltman goes over information with clients at the Eviction Defense Collaborative. San Francisco is expected to expand access to legal counsel for those facing eviction proceedings. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)
The Pacific Gas & Electric Caribou-Palermo transmission line runs through an area that was devastated by the Camp Fire in November 2018 in Pulga, Feb. 28, 2019. The California utility says a blown fuse on power lines could have sparked the Dixie Fire, which has burned over 30,000 acres near the site of the Camp Fire two years ago. (Max Whittaker/The New York Times)

PG&E says its equipment may have led to 30,000-acre Dixie Fire

By Adeel Hassan NYTimes News Service Pacific Gas and Electric, California’s largest…

  • Jul 19, 2021
The Pacific Gas & Electric Caribou-Palermo transmission line runs through an area that was devastated by the Camp Fire in November 2018 in Pulga, Feb. 28, 2019. The California utility says a blown fuse on power lines could have sparked the Dixie Fire, which has burned over 30,000 acres near the site of the Camp Fire two years ago. (Max Whittaker/The New York Times)
Penelope Houston, along with guitarist Greg Ingraham, of the Avengers perform in October 2019. Courtesy Deb Frazin

Avengers vs. Blondie: Why the wrong punk band made it big

Sometime in 1983, my good friend Will heard of a record party…

  • Jul 21, 2021
Penelope Houston, along with guitarist Greg Ingraham, of the Avengers perform in October 2019. Courtesy Deb Frazin
Needles, sharps containers, metal tins for cooking heroin, alcohol wipes and fentanyl detection strips are some items used at San Francisco harm reduction sites. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner) Needles, sharps containers, metal tins for cooking heroin, alcohol wipes and fentanyl detection strips are some items used at San Francisco harm reduction sites. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)

SF experiments with sobering center as new solution to drug crisis

Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug, potentially triggering destructive, dangerous behavior that poses…

Needles, sharps containers, metal tins for cooking heroin, alcohol wipes and fentanyl detection strips are some items used at San Francisco harm reduction sites. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner) Needles, sharps containers, metal tins for cooking heroin, alcohol wipes and fentanyl detection strips are some items used at San Francisco harm reduction sites. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)
A storage room at Dario Sattui’s winery, Castello di Amorosa, in Calistoga, on Oct. 1, 2020, that burned in the Glass Fire. If any nook of American agriculture has the means and incentive to outwit the climate crisis, it is Napa Valley. But so far, vineyards here show the limits of adapting to a warming planet. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)

Scorched, parched and now uninsurable: Climate change hits Wine Country

By Christopher Flavelle NYTimes News Service ST. HELENA — Last September, a…

  • Jul 19, 2021
A storage room at Dario Sattui’s winery, Castello di Amorosa, in Calistoga, on Oct. 1, 2020, that burned in the Glass Fire. If any nook of American agriculture has the means and incentive to outwit the climate crisis, it is Napa Valley. But so far, vineyards here show the limits of adapting to a warming planet. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)
Lina Yea, owner of Bay Home & Linens in San Mateo, was happy to invite all customers in her shop on reopening day, June 15, 2021. (Leslie Katz/The Examiner) Lina Yea, owner of Bay Home & Linens in San Mateo, was happy to invite all customers in her shop on reopening day, June 15, 2021. (Leslie Katz/The Examiner)

San Mateo considers millions in COVID relief for small business

San Mateo County supervisors on Tuesday will consider providing millions of dollars…

Lina Yea, owner of Bay Home & Linens in San Mateo, was happy to invite all customers in her shop on reopening day, June 15, 2021. (Leslie Katz/The Examiner) Lina Yea, owner of Bay Home & Linens in San Mateo, was happy to invite all customers in her shop on reopening day, June 15, 2021. (Leslie Katz/The Examiner)
People wearing masks wait to place an order at Chaumont Bakery in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, July 18, 2021. As Los Angeles Countyճ indoor mask requirement takes effect on Monday, July 19, 2021, there is eager acceptance and stubborn refusal, mild grumbling and blurted-out outrage. (Morgan Lieberman/The New York Times)

Wary and weary, LA largely accepts restored mask mandate

By Shawn Hubler, Livia Albeck-Ripka and Matt Craig NYTimes News Service At…

  • Jul 19, 2021
People wearing masks wait to place an order at Chaumont Bakery in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, July 18, 2021. As Los Angeles Countyճ indoor mask requirement takes effect on Monday, July 19, 2021, there is eager acceptance and stubborn refusal, mild grumbling and blurted-out outrage. (Morgan Lieberman/The New York Times)
Plans for improvements on Market Street could lead to a cut in historic F-Market streetcar service for as many as four years. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)

Better or worse? SF scales back ambitions for Market Street makeover

Better Market Street was supposed to be a once-in-a-generation undertaking, the kind…

Plans for improvements on Market Street could lead to a cut in historic F-Market streetcar service for as many as four years. (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner)
Assemblymember Phil Ting says an arts center scheduled to open in 2024 in San Francisco’s Chinatown will be a “place to learn and open minds.” (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner, 2021)

State funds new Chinatown arts center with $26.5 million

Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, on Thursday announced he was able to…

Assemblymember Phil Ting says an arts center scheduled to open in 2024 in San Francisco’s Chinatown will be a “place to learn and open minds.” (Kevin N. Hume/The Examiner, 2021)
Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. looks towards the Giants dugout after hitting a home run against the A’s on June 26th. The team is on a record-setting pace for home runs this season. (Christopher Victorio/ Special to The Examiner)

‘Powder River!’ Giants record-setting home run pace provides a blast from the past

By Chris Haft Special to The Examiner Nod in approval, Barry Bonds.…

  • Jul 16, 2021
Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. looks towards the Giants dugout after hitting a home run against the A’s on June 26th. The team is on a record-setting pace for home runs this season. (Christopher Victorio/ Special to The Examiner)
As President Joe Biden travels the country pitching his plan for spending trillions of dollars to reshape the American economy, he is facing a rhetorical reality that has long plagued many of his predecessors: There’s a vast difference between explaining and inspiring. (Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times)

Krugman: How big spending got its groove back

By Paul Krugman NYTimes News Service The way it was: Some years…

  • Jul 16, 2021
As President Joe Biden travels the country pitching his plan for spending trillions of dollars to reshape the American economy, he is facing a rhetorical reality that has long plagued many of his predecessors: There’s a vast difference between explaining and inspiring. (Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times)
People wears masks as they wait in line to enter Foot Locker on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles on June 15, 2021. Public health officials in Los Angeles County were urging residents to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, amid a troubling rise in COVID-19 cases involving the highly infectious Delta variant. (Kendrick Brinson/The New York Times)

Haunted by past virus surges, California leans on masks and vaccines

By Shawn Hubler and Mitch Smith NYTimes News Service SACRAMENTO — Exactly…

  • Jul 16, 2021
People wears masks as they wait in line to enter Foot Locker on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles on June 15, 2021. Public health officials in Los Angeles County were urging residents to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, amid a troubling rise in COVID-19 cases involving the highly infectious Delta variant. (Kendrick Brinson/The New York Times)
Kymberli and Lenton Wilson, pictured in May 2020 outside their their tent in Oakland, have since since moved to a trailer, but they continue to wait after more than a year for something more permanent.<ins> (Jared R. Stapp via The New York Times)</ins>

Hope and disappointment for the homeless in Oakland

By Brett Simpson NYTimes News Service When Kymberli Wilson opens her eyes…

  • Jul 16, 2021
Kymberli and Lenton Wilson, pictured in May 2020 outside their their tent in Oakland, have since since moved to a trailer, but they continue to wait after more than a year for something more permanent.<ins> (Jared R. Stapp via The New York Times)</ins>
Rafael Suarez tries to restart the generator during a hot day in Los Angeles, on July 9, 2021. The couple try to keep their space clean to avoid city clean-ups, which often leads to having some of their belongings thrown away. (Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters)

Is homelessness Newsom’s weak point in recall? Republicans are counting on it

By Manuela Tobias CalMatters The Gavin Newsom recall may have picked up…

  • Jul 15, 2021
Rafael Suarez tries to restart the generator during a hot day in Los Angeles, on July 9, 2021. The couple try to keep their space clean to avoid city clean-ups, which often leads to having some of their belongings thrown away. (Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters)