Joe Kukura
Oakland
Free public WiFi coming to large sections of Oakland
Oakland is closing the digital divide with a $7.7 million CARES Act grant that will provide free public WiFi to as much as 85% of the city. Read More
San Francisco Union Square
Martin Yan’s Westfield Centre restaurant M.Y. China closes permanently
A lucrative location was rendered a terrible location when the pandemic hit, and Martin Yan’s namesake foray into shopping mall chic has closed. Read More
San Francisco
SF is hiring artists and performs to do COVID-19 PSAs
Work will be slightly less scarce for 30 underemployed artists and performers in the coronavirus economy, as a new San Francisco Creative Corps will be giving the gift of gigs. Read More
San Francisco Union Square
Rejoice! A new Britex Fabrics neon sign has gone up in Union Square
The cultural fabric of Union Square has been brightened with a spiffy new incarnation of the iconic Britex Fabrics sign. Read More
San Francisco Mission Mission Bay Nob Hill Polk Potrero Hill
San Francisco exodus is real, Nob Hill has the most move-outs
Postal Service change of address data indicates as many as 90,000 households may have moved out of SF in the pandemic, with Nob Hill the most frequently fled neighborhood. Read More
San Francisco Bayview Bernal Heights Hunters Point Visitacion Valley
Alemany Farmers’ Market to become free COVID-19 testing site
Starting Tuesday, the site of the Alemany Farmers’ Market will be the newest free coronavirus testing center, with no insurance required. Read More
San Francisco Nob Hill Russian Hill
House of Prime Rib is remaining open, switching to carry-out only
The imminent indoor dining shutdown prompts House of Prime Rib to go take-out only, but you have to come in and place the order yourself. Read More
San Francisco
Menlo Park school board president resigns over wife’s racist Kamala Harris tweets
Some crude speculation about Kamala Harris’ anatomy has led to the resignation of the Las Lomitas Elementary School District president. Read More
San Francisco Mission
Banksy mural in the Mission marked up by taggers
A 10-year-old Mission District mural attributed to street artist Banksy got graffitied, so cue up the debate on the ethics of tagging over someone else’s tagging. Read More
San Francisco Mission
Video: ‘Funeral’ held for 24th Street ficus trees slated to be cut down
Many of the trees along 24th Street are coming down, but a Day of the Dead ‘ceremonia’ paid a spiritual homage to those 50-year-old ficuses set for removal. Read More
San Francisco Bayview
Bayview’s Vegan Hood Chefs will be featured in ad during 49ers’ Thursday Night Football game
Thursday night’s 49ers game will feature a cameo from Bayview soul food truck and catering service Vegan Hood Chefs, as they’ll appear on prime time TV in a Bud Light commercial. Read More
San Francisco
Long live the new parklets as ‘Shared Spaces’ program gets extended through June 2021
With more than 1,800 businesses now sprawled onto sidewalks and streets, City Hall has approved a six-month extension of the popular arrangement. Read More
Oakland
New Burma Superstar spin-off opens on Telegraph Ave., with DoorDash as an investor
The delivery-and-take-out only Burma Bites opened today, delivery app DoorDash is a surprise investor. Read More
San Francisco SoMa Union Square
Westfield Centre’s cineplex Century Theatre set to reopen Friday
One San Francisco cineplex will reopen this weekend for the true movie theater experience, but with no concessions, small crowds, and of course masks required. Read More
San Francisco Financial District
Long-delayed FiDi luxury hotel gets sleek new proposed design, still nowhere near approval
They’re basically building a 200-room glass hotel on top of the current Cort Furniture brick facade at Battery and Merchant Streets, but nary a Planning Department permit has been granted for the new plan. Read More
San Francisco Tenderloin
Tommy’s Joynt announces Oct. 29 reopening, teases Thanksgiving plans
We could be stuffing our faces with Tommy’s Joynt turkey this Thanksgiving, and the old-school Van Ness sandwich-and-stew hofbrau has announced a “reduced” reopening for Thursday, October 29. Read More
San Francisco West Portal
This West Portal house wins SF Halloween 2020 with brilliant mask display
If you want to see San Francisco’s cleverest Halloween decoration display of 2020, a West Portal house really has you covered. Read More
San Francisco Excelsior Visitacion Valley
Pink Martini, Major Lazer bring back live concerts at Burlingame drive-in
We haven’t seen live concerts from big-name national acts in 7 months — but they’re coming back next week, at Burlingame’s Bayshore Drive-In. Read More
San Francisco Civic Center
Alt-right rabble-rousers get their ‘Free Speech Rally’ permit for Saturday, but it’s at Civic Center
A cast of D-list QAnon mini-celebrities had planned to protest in Dolores Park Saturday, but have scored a permit for Civic Center instead. Read More
San Francisco Chinatown
New Chinatown photo book explores neighborhood’s journey ‘from shame to celebration’
America’s oldest Chinatown shares secret sights never before seen publicly in the just-released coffee table book and deep-dive community profile ‘San Francisco’s Chinatown.’ Read More
San Francisco Union Square
SF’s first Latina-owned dispensary opens to big crowd in Union Square
Though Union Square is still mostly boarded up like a ghost town, a new cannabis dispensary opening today is creating a big buzz. Read More
San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf
Buena Vista Cafe gets landmark plaque honoring its Irish coffee-soaked history
Here are some shots of Saturday’s unveiling of a new landmark plaque honoring the U.S. birthplace of the whiskey-and-caffeine concoction Irish coffee. Read More