San Francisco

Cities With the Least and Most Energy Use

San Francisco ranks No. 1 on the City Clean Energy Scorecard while Baton Rouge, Louisiana came in last.

  • By Andre Claudio

The Cities With the Heftiest Parking Fines

A new report looks at how violations like blocking traffic, loading zones or pedestrian ramps can put a dent in drivers' wallets.

  • By Andre Claudio

In One City, 3 Days a Week in the Office May be a New Norm

That's according to a survey of about 200 companies in the San Francisco region. City leaders in other parts of the country are waiting to see how similar trends play out.

  • By Bill Lucia

Rental Prices are Booming in Mid-Sized Cities

New estimates show how places like Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Washington have seen housing rents rise sharply during the pandemic. And the trend isn’t easing up.

  • By Bill Lucia

Unearthing an Origin Story for Gentrification

COMMENTARY | The growth of the medieval city of Angkor involved wealthy elites pushing people off the land they had made valuable.

  • By Annalee Newitz, The Atlantic

CEQA Is an Abomination

COMMENTARY | How California’s signature environmental law got out of control, and how to fix it.

  • By M. Nolan Gray, The Atlantic

Another Big Company Plans for Remote Work Beyond the Pandemic

Salesforce, one of San Francisco's top employers, says it expects the majority of its workers will be going into the office fewer than five days a week.

  • By Bill Lucia

San Francisco and D.C. Transit Agencies Consider Big Layoffs, Service Cuts

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Grocery stores with pharmacies buying medical-grade freezers for vaccines … Virginia looking for citizen members of its new redistricting commission … California governor denies parole for Manson follower.

  • By Laura Maggi

Ahead of Thanksgiving, Cities See Surge in Demand for Covid Tests

Leaders in San Francisco warned the city’s testing capacity is being overrun by people looking to travel, and urged people to just stay home.

  • By Andrea Noble

San Francisco Voters Approve ‘Overpaid Executive Tax’

The surcharge will apply to businesses where top executives earn more than 100 times the median pay level for a company’s employees in the city.

  • By Bill Lucia

Sleek, Silver and Stuffed With Litter: San Francisco Settles on Three Finalists for New Trash Can Design

The city's public works department is revamping its public trash can design to better contain garbage and, maybe, look nice on the street.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

San Francisco Lawmaker Introduces ‘CAREN Act’ to Stop Racially-Biased 911 Calls

The Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act would create penalties for those who make false emergency reports.

  • By Emma Coleman
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San Francisco Voters to Decide on Taxing Companies With Outsized Executive Pay

Local elected leaders are sending the tax plan to the ballot, citing concerns about equity and the large hole that the coronavirus has blown in the city's budget.

  • By Bill Lucia

In an Attempt to Help Struggling Restaurants, Cities Regulate Food Delivery Apps

Several cities have set caps on the commission a food delivery app can take from a restaurant in recent weeks, a measure officials say will relieve some of the burden on struggling local businesses.

  • By Emma Coleman

The Inside Story Of How The Bay Area Got Ahead Of The COVID-19 Crisis

In the 24 hours before San Francisco Bay Area public health officials issued the country’s first stay-at-home order, they debated how to tackle the alarming rise in COVID-19 infections. Their decision set the course for the nation.

  • By Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Angela Hart, Kaiser Health News

The City That Has Flattened the Coronavirus Curve

Mayor London Breed’s early and aggressive moves to contain the outbreak have made San Francisco a national model in fighting the pandemic.

  • By Russell Berman, The Atlantic

Cities Rush to Respond as Homelessness and Coronavirus Collide

Homeless people are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. Cities are working to implement protective measures, often with no idea how they'll pay for it.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

San Francisco Bay Area Counties Order Residents to ‘Shelter in Place’

Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area became the first jurisdictions in the country to order residents to “shelter in place.” Across the country, some governors and mayors ordered bars, restaurants, movie theaters, and gyms to close.

  • By Emma Coleman

The Emerging Appeal of Banning Most Cars on Some Streets

New York and San Francisco have imposed strict limits on vehicles in certain corridors. Will car-free zones catch on elsewhere?

  • By Bill Lucia

San Francisco Hopes To Improve Care For People With Mental Illness Living On Streets

San Francisco is using a new state law to expand the use of conservatorship, which allows the city to take people with mental illness and substance abuse issues off the streets without their consent and put them into treatment.

  • By Brian Krans, Kaiser Health News

Missed Your Flight? At Some Airports, Therapy Animals Are There to Help

San Francisco is one of more than 50 airports with an in-house team of certified therapy animals that roam the terminals, offering comfort and distraction to weary travelers.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram