Sanctuary or snitch? Bay Area counties trade immigrant data for cash

<p>Even as several declare themselves sanctuaries, counties in the Bay Area are sending personal information about incarcerated immigrants to the federal government. In return, they’re getting millions of dollars from the Department of Justice through a program that critics argue violates state law. In 2024, California counties and the state’s prison system received more than $59.4 million from the little-known State Criminal Alien Assistance Program— more than any other state, and more than the next seven states combined, according to the  most recently available DOJ data . Some Bay Area counties received more money for jailing undocumented immigrants than entire states. From 2015 to 2024, California took in $728 million in SCAAP funding.  According to  the Department of Justice , which administers SCAAP, the program reimburses states and counties “for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens with at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for violations of state or local law.” In exchange, counties must share a list of the name, date of birth, country of origin, and date of incarceration for every person in jail or prison that year. A private company helps the federal government identify undocumented people on the list. Critics say that cooperation with the feds violates the 2017 California Values Act, which established the “sanctuary state” and bars cooperation with immigration authorities. San Francisco and Santa Clara counties have forgone SCAAP money since 2016.  San Mateo County Sheriff Kenneth Binder, who was sworn in last November, said that although the previous sheriff applied for SCAAP cash, the office “has declined the 2024 award of the grant and has no intentions of applying for future SCAAP funding.” With the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in full swing, some Bay Area counties are saying they’ll back out of SCAAP. But even under pressure from residents, other counties don’t appear inclined to give up the free federal cash. Is it legal? The federal government created SCAAP in 1994 , partially in response to California Gov. Pete Wilson’s complaints that the state was forced to pay to jail undocumented immigrants.  According to the LA Times , Wilson threatened to leave a shackled undocumented prisoner on the doorstep of a federal prison if California didn’t receive reimbursement. In 2024, 35 of the 58 California counties received SCAAP money, along with the state’s prison system.  California has the nation’s largest estimated population of undocumented people: 2.9 million, according to a 2023  Migration Policy Institute analysis . But its dominance in SCAAP funding is still disproportionate compared with other states that also have large immigrant populations. For decades after the program’s creation, SCAAP wasn’t controversial in California. To most sheriffs, it was a paperwork chore that came around every September and covered part of the budget. It flew under the radar of pro-immigration activists.  The  Obama , Biden, and  first Trump  administrations all proposed cutting SCAAP. Sen. Dianne Feinstein defended the program and  even pushed to expand it  to cover the cost of jailing undocumented people who were charged with a crime. When Donald Trump was first running for president, some in the San Francisco public defender’s office noticed SCAAP money came with strings attached. “There was this pressure and expectation from [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] that you have to work closely with them,” said Angela Chan, assistant chief attorney at the public defender’s office. According to Chan, the feds expected that sheriff departments receiving SCAAP funding would respond to requests to hold undocumented people upon their release from jail so that ICE could detain them. “Under the Obama administration, they were adding more conditions when it came to getting SCAAP reimbursement.” In 2016, Chan helped convince the San Francisco’s sheriff to pull out of SCAAP. Chan went on to help write the  California Values Act . The bill, passed in 2017, sharply limits how much police can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. “SCAAP violates the letter of the law,” Chan said. She points to language in the act that prohibits California law enforcement from sharing “personal information … about an [undocumented] individual,” including the person’s name, which is required under SCAAP reimbursement requests. Nonetheless, millions of dollars pour into the state each year. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said he is committed to upholding the California Values Act while appearing to sidestep the controversy. “California has made a conscious decision not to assist with the Trump administration’s destructive mass deportation campaign by limiting the use of its resources for federal immigration enforcement — and courts have upheld that choice as a lawful exercise of state power,” Bonta’s office said in a statement. “That said, we are unable to provide legal analysis on participation in specific programs.” Who even knows they’re in SCAAP? Some sheriffs have said they didn’t know their counties were receiving SCAAP money. In July 2025, Santa Cruz County’s new sheriff, Chris Clark,  said he hadn’t known  the county participated in the program and pledged to discontinue it.  A representative of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said the county in no way cooperates with the federal government to identify undocumented people. When told that the most recently available records indicate that Sonoma County received SCAAP money, he expressed surprise and said he would look into whether the sheriff still participated in the program. The office did not respond to further requests for comment. Activists  recently pressed Marin County  and Alameda County to discontinue their participation in the program. In Marin, activists packed a Jan. 20 Board of Supervisors meeting and dominated public comment with demands that the county back out of SCAAP. Some carried signs bearing a photo of Renee Good, the Minneapolis woman fatally shot last month by ICE officers.  At the next meeting a week later, Marin County Executive Derek Johnson read a statement defending the use of the money. “SCAAP is a long-standing administrative reimbursement program that helps offset certain jail costs months after incarceration has occurred,” he said. The county has no apparent plans to stop taking the money. The Sheriff’s Department did not respond to requests for comment. At an Alameda Board of Supervisors meeting that same day, Alameda Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez acknowledged the community pressure to leave SCAAP. “I’ve been committed to looking into that,” she said but declined to promise anything further.  In 2024, Alameda County was the second-largest recipient of SCAAP money in California after Orange County, receiving $1.2 million. But if the county were to stop receiving the funds, making up the difference would likely prove difficult — the county’s latest budget shortfall, $105.7 million, was its largest in recent years. For its part, the Trump administration doesn’t appear keen on continuing to send tens of millions a year in SCAAP funding to California. In February 2025, just after Pam Bondi became attorney general, she  outlined a directive  to deny DOJ funding to sanctuary jurisdictions. She ordered a 60-day pause on SCAAP and other funding to California, but the order was overturned by a federal judge in San Francisco, and the money kept coming.  In July, Bondi’s office  sent letters to counties  that don’t receive SCAAP funds, including San Francisco, and asked that they hand over immigrants’ identifying information anyway, for free. Where does the data go? SCAAP critics worry that the information local law enforcement provides to the federal government in exchange for funding could lead to ICE detaining undocumented people after they’re released from a local jail or state prison.  Public defenders and immigration attorneys in the region could not confirm any case of a SCAAP reimbursement request leading directly to an immigrant’s detention. But they remain concerned that it might’ve happened without their knowledge, or could happen. ”We don’t believe that it is an appropriate role for any county in California to act as an agent of, particularly this administration’s, ICE programs,” said Kate Chatfield, executive director of the California Public Defenders Association.  At the meeting in Marin, Johnson said SCAAP “does not involve immigration enforcement, does not authorize cooperation with ICE operations, and does not require real-time reporting or notification for immigration purposes.” Chan disagrees that SCAAP reporting never includes “real-time” reporting on individuals while they’re incarcerated. “It depends how long that person is in local jail,” Chan said. “Certainly there can be people [counties] report to ICE through SCAAP reimbursement who are still in their custody.”  Chatfield doesn’t think the information shared via SCAAP is as harmless as the Marin County executive contends. “ They want this information for some reason,” she said. “No, I can’t point to cases where they’ve used [SCAAP information to detain people]. But clearly they want counties to act as a dragnet for information. … They’re asking sheriffs to be data brokers, to be selling people’s data.” Chatfield noted that the money Marin County receives from SCAAP represents just 0.67% of the sheriff’s annual budget. “So they’re willing to sell out their noncitizens for pennies.”</p>

‘Obviously exploitation’: Lawmaker targets low pay in SF street cleaning industry

<p>As San Francisco increasingly leans on private contractors to tackle its visible drug and homelessness crises, Supervisor Myrna Melgar is introducing new legislation on Tuesday that aims to ensure higher wages for frontline street cleaners. The Department of Emergency Management in December  awarded $32 million in contracts  to five organizations tasked with responding to homelessness, public drug use, violence, and trash. Some elected officials, including Mayor Daniel Lurie, have credited these for-profit and nonprofit entities with improving street safety and cleanliness. However, union leaders allege that outsourcing street cleaning work leads to subpar outcomes as employees are underpaid, undertrained, and under less scrutiny than city staffers.  Melgar’s legislation, the Clean Streets and Fair Pay Act, would require future contracts to pay street cleaners a wage comparable to what they would make if employed by the city. The requirement, Melgar hopes, would force the city to thoroughly evaluate whether its own employees could be used instead of contractors.  “Cleaning our public streets is public work,” Melgar said. “I think we shouldn’t be privatizing public services like this.” Street cleaning is one function often fulfilled by ambassadors who are also required to deter drug activity and homeless encampments on sidewalks. Melgar and union leaders credited recent reports in The Standard for spurring the legislation.   In December, The Standard  profiled Ahsing Solutions , a nascent for-profit organization tasked with responding to the drug crisis in the Mission, raising questions about the ethics and effectiveness of the growing street ambassador industry. Experts in security law say Ahsing and another large city contractor, Urban Alchemy, require ambassadors to do work typically performed by licensed security guards, though the organizations do not possess the required licenses. “They’re actually doing the work that a police officer should do, or a [Homelessness and Supportive Housing Department] worker, or a [Department of Public Health] worker,” Melgar said of the ambassadors. “Then turning around to pay their workers minimum wage. I just don’t think that’s right.” Ambassadors employed by the five organizations that signed new city contracts in December make between $52,000 and $62,400 annually. By comparison, a city-employed street inspector can make up to $134,000 annually, plus overtime, benefits, and other compensation that adds tens of thousands of dollars, according to Transparent California.  The proposed law is likely to cause controversy at City Hall as leaders search for creative ways to bolster essential public services despite growing budget constraints. Lurie has made addressing the street crises a priority of his administration. His office did not respond to a request for comment on Melgar’s legislation.  The street ambassador model, which employs formerly incarcerated or homeless people, among others, to monitor problematic street corners, has grown locally and nationally since Urban Alchemy launched in San Francisco in 2021. In 2024, the nonprofit reported annual revenue of nearly $84.9 million. Business owners and residents have praised the programs for clearing visible drug use and homelessness from San Francisco sidewalks. Critics say the initiatives are merely shuffling the crises out of public view and not necessarily resulting in significant financial savings for the city.  Last year, Laborers International Union Local 261, which represents employees of the Department of Public Works, blasted Ahsing Solutions, alleging it did not work collaboratively with city employees. However, the union said this week that it had reached an agreement with Ahsing, under which the company would no longer power wash the sidewalks.  The Department of Emergency management said in a statement that Ahsing doesn’t use a power washer and that the organization is still expected to “maintain a clean environment.”  Representatives of Ahsing Solutions and Urban Alchemy did not respond to requests for comment. The companies have faced criticism for having low-paid, front-line employees perform work similar to that of security guards without the proper licenses, training, oversight, or insurance, placing them in danger. In September, a man allegedly used a shotgun to kill an Urban Alchemy ambassador who had asked him to move, marking at least the third time one of the nonprofit’s workers was shot. “A city that tolerates exploitation is a city that abandons its values,”  civil rights icon Dolores Huerta  said in a statement. “Fair wages are not a luxury — they are the foundation of strong communities.” Proponents of the contractors argue that Urban Alchemy and others have some of the region’s most effective job programs for formerly incarcerated people. But Melgar contends that these workers would be better served in union jobs that offer better pay and upward mobility. “If you keep somebody in a role for four years cleaning bathrooms, that’s obviously exploitation,” the supervisor said. “We want to support the upward mobility that comes with a good union job.”</p>

Daniel Lurie was the public safety mayor. Now he’s trying to be the affordability guy

Year 1 of the Lurie era is done. Here’s how he kept — or whiffed — his biggest promises

State Treasurer Fiona Ma files for divorce from firefighter husband

<div class="content-grid article-content"><div class="Metadata_container__fxAzw"><div class="flex flex-row gap-x-md"></div><div class="Metadata_metadata__W_0LF"><span>By <a class="" href="https://sfstandard.com/author/han-li/">Han Li</a></span><time datetime="2026-01-06T22:14:09.325Z">Published Jan. 06, 2026 • 2:14pm</time></div></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Amid her campaign for lieutenant governor, State Treasurer Fiona Ma has filed for divorce, according to San Francisco Superior Court records.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">In a text message, Ma confirmed the split from Jason Hodge, a former firefighter, and described it as amicable.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“After 15 years, we have grown apart but remain good friends,” said Ma, 59. She filed the position Monday.</p></div><div class="!p-0 !m-0"></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The couple have no children. Ma’s <a href="https://fionama.com/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">campaign website<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a> stated that she and Hodge “are the proud parents of three adopted rescues,” with a photo of three dogs.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Ma <u><a data-post-id="8501c6ee-d937-4e18-8295-312478d72857" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/10/sunset-supervisor-gender-appointment/">began her elected career</a></u> as a member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors in the early 2000s, representing the Sunset. She later served in the state Assembly and on the Board of Equalization before winning statewide office as treasurer in 2018.</p></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">In 2021, Ma was sued by a former staffer, Judith Blackwell, who alleged sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and wrongful termination. Chief among the allegations were that Ma exposed herself and crawled into bed with Blackwell when they shared a hotel room while on a business trip. Ma denied the allegations, and a court dismissed some of the claims. Blackwell dropped the lawsuit in 2024. The state later <u><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/29/fiona-ma-sexual-harassment-drop-00176784" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reached a separate settlement<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> with Blackwell for $350,000.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Ma is considered a front-runner in the race for lieutenant governor. If elected, she will be the first Asian American to hold the position.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Ma and Hodge, an elected member of the Oxnard Harbor Commission, met in 2010 and were married the following year, according <u><a href="https://www.sfgate.com/style/article/It-only-takes-a-spark-for-Fiona-Ma-Jason-Hodge-2288821.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">to a Chronicle story<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u>.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“He is a 6-foot-5 American Indian. She is a 5-foot-4 Chinese American,” <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/author/carolyne-zinko/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carolyne Zinko<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a> wrote. “He is a firefighter. She is a politician. He lives in Southern California. She spends most of the week in Sacramento. And they have not spent more than three days together during the 1 1/2 years they’ve dated except for one vacation shortly after they met.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“We never argue, we agree on the same things, and we have the same passions — and passionate debates without attacks,” Hodge was quoted as saying.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Ma and Hodge were married at her home on Nov. 11, 2011, in a private ceremony officiated by California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton, who <a data-post-id="18f03522-abba-486f-a816-144ef85d7f15" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/07/john-burton-san-francisco-dies-92/">died in September.</a></p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">It’s been a rough several months for Ma, who <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CA.Fiona/posts/pfbid0ziz6smAYZXL97zCAwe2WKkv6X3a4F2Jm7fqmp9VDtHzJ7JnscBp7AuvKomne9Hgtl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mourned her father’s death in October.<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">In her text to The Standard, Ma expressed excitement for her political prospects, in spite of the personal setbacks. “It’s my Fire Horse Year!” she wrote. “I was born in the year of the horse and won my first race in 2002 (year of the horse), state board of equalization (2014 another horse year), and this year is Fire Horse Year.”</p></div></div>

DA alleges nonprofit staffers pocketed money meant to repair homeless shelter

<div class="content-grid article-content"><div class="Metadata_container__fxAzw"><div class="flex flex-row gap-x-md"></div><div class="Metadata_metadata__W_0LF"><span>By <a class="" href="https://sfstandard.com/author/joe-fitzgerald-rodriguez/">Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez</a></span><time datetime="2026-01-02T22:56:37.669Z">Published Jan. 02, 2026 • 2:56pm</time></div></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Two staffers connected to a San Francisco homelessness nonprofit have been charged with defrauding the city, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office announced Friday.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The DA’s office charged Kenisha Roach, former client manager for the nonprofit Providence Foundation, with felony counts of misappropriation of public monies and grand theft, and Robert Lacy, the owner of Will Do It Construction, with presenting a false claim and incorrect use of a contractor’s license with intent to defraud. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The Providence Foundation received millions in city funds to operate housing sites, including the Oasis Inn, a navigation center, and a support center for formerly homeless seniors.</p></div><div class="!p-0 !m-0"></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The pair allegedly pocketed $115,000 intended for the repair of the Oasis, a homeless shelter for families. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Roach and Lacy on Friday pleaded not guilty to the charges.</p></div><div class="w-full bg-warm-gray-50 border border-warm-gray-300 rounded-xl flex flex-col gap-md px-lg py-[20px]"><div class="flex flex-row text-medium leading-[1.1] text-black font-inter gap-xs"><span class="italic font-normal">More about</span><a href="https://sfstandard.com/tag/nonprofits/"><span class="font-bold underline decoration-highlight decoration-[3.2px]">Nonprofits</span></a></div><ul class="flex flex-col gap-md"><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm pb-md border-b border-warm-gray-300"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/29/poor-magazine-homefulness-project-sf-cesar-chavez/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt='A diverse group of people stand close together outdoors, some smiling and making gestures, with a "For Sale" sign and graffiti on a wall behind them.' class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="5197" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_6h8ok4cuhl3tjaet88h2gnge0t/-S3840x2561-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_6h8ok4cuhl3tjaet88h2gnge0t/-S3840x2561-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 7791 5197'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="7791"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/29/poor-magazine-homefulness-project-sf-cesar-chavez/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">An Oakland nonprofit just bought a ‘pizza slice’ of land in SF. Here’s why </h3></a></li><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/10/decentered-arts-folsom-st-nonprofit-space/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt="Two women stand smiling in a bright room with green floors, surrounded by potted plants and colorful abstract paintings on the white walls." class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="1739" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_3je625kl3d3k3bm2hv4ehrog0v/-S3840x2560-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_3je625kl3d3k3bm2hv4ehrog0v/-S3840x2560-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 2608 1739'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="2608"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/10/decentered-arts-folsom-st-nonprofit-space/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">This arts org lost venues, so it decided to open its own</h3></a></li></ul></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The purported scheme was a two-person job: After city officials approved contracts between Providence Foundation and the city to improve the Oasis in 2022, Roach approved Lacy to conduct the work. Lacy later presented to Roach invoices for those services from his construction company, the DA said. Roach allegedly knew that the work, which included replacing deadbolts and repainting exterior walls, hadn’t been completed.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Whenever Lacy’s firm was paid, he would allegedly send Roach thousands of dollars in what the DA’s office called “kickbacks.” Lacy was later hired by Providence as a client manager.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">City Attorney David Chiu moved to bar Providence Foundation <u><a data-post-id="bea6ebf6-5879-4219-bf7c-38909f8e3196" href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/05/06/san-francisco-homelessness-scandal-providence-foundation/">from doing business with the city</a></u> in 2024 after the alleged scheme was discovered. But late last year, after the foundation removed its executive director and other employees and <u><a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/troubled-homeless-shelter-operator-20824187.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">admitted to wrongdoing<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u>, the city backed off. As of 2022, the organization had $7.2 million in city grant agreements.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“The individuals referenced were former employees and are no longer affiliated with the Providence Foundation,” Dexter Hall, interim executive director of the organization, said in a statement. “Today, Providence is focused on the future.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">In its statement, the foundation committed to conducting third-party audits, recruiting board members who are experts in government compliance, and overhauling its policies to prevent fraud. It also reached a $1 million settlement with the city.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The dust-up at Providence was the latest in a slew of nonprofit scandals in San Francisco. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Sheryl Davis resigned in 2024 as executive director of the Human Rights Commission <u><a data-post-id="17e9ce56-6e1a-4b2c-ab4a-70d02ae1a664" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/08/25/san-francisco-sheryl-davis-dream-keeper-initiative-criminal-investigation/">amid allegations of financial misconduct</a></u> in disbursing funds for the multimillion-dollar Dreamkeeper Initiative. Last year, the nonprofit Parks Alliance dissolved <u><a data-post-id="d6b719ce-5b88-4a68-92a9-a0154a78ce66" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/06/18/san-francisco-parks-alliance-nonprofit-scandal-justin-probert/">amid allegations of financial malfeasance</a></u>, walking away from thousands of dollars it owed to community groups.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Roach and Lacy’s next court date is scheduled for mid-February.</p></div></div>

The Standard’s most impactful stories of the year

<div class="content-grid article-content"><div class="Metadata_container__fxAzw"><div class="flex flex-row gap-x-md"></div><div class="Metadata_metadata__W_0LF"><span>By <a class="" href="https://sfstandard.com/author/the-standard-staff/">The Standard Staff</a></span><time datetime="2025-12-31T14:00:00.000Z">Published Dec. 31, 2025 • 6:00am</time></div></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Great reporting doesn’t just document — it can lead to real change. This year our reporting launched inquiries and lawsuits, inspired civic fixes and hefty private donations, and even ended a few political careers. Each of these stories is a reminder of how journalism can turn public attention into public action. </p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left"><b>The 200-hour supervisor</b></h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Just days after Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed <u><a href="https://sfstandard.com/tag/isabella-alcaraz/">Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz</a></u> as Sunset supervisor, The Standard was the first to publish an investigation into <u><a data-post-id="14a603bb-ef07-4f5e-b4d5-2b1d433a90a9" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/10/san-francisco-alcaraz-daniel-lurie-sunset-supervisor-animal-connection-pet-store/">questionable business practices at the pet shop</a></u> she used to own. The exposé showed that Alcaraz had left the Sunset shop in squalor for the next owner, with hundreds of dead mice and trash strewn throughout. The story led to <u><a data-post-id="3aed2535-574d-43c5-9d73-c8b604d43761" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/13/isabella-beya-alcaraz-sunset-supervisor-resigns/">Alcaraz’s resignation</a></u> within a week, in a scandal that marked <u><a data-post-id="9a4f5708-d1e0-4db4-9616-fbf2d530e3ec" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/15/san-francisco-daniel-lurie-isabella-beya-alcaraz/">the biggest misstep</a></u> of Lurie’s <u><a data-post-id="46be59b2-0556-40e8-90f9-1aa06df5db46" href="https://sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time/2025/11/26/lurie-sunset-beya-alcaraz/">administration so far. </a></u></p></div><div class="!p-0 !m-0"></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left"><b>The illegally shared license plate reader data</b></h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">In recent years, license plate surveillance has proliferated across the Bay Area, with law enforcement agencies relying on the tech to track stolen vehicles and crack down on sideshows. <u><a data-post-id="a51d6dd2-456f-4069-ae1c-53b3fad923fd" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/14/oakland-san-francisco-ice-license-plate-readers/">Investigations by The Standard</a></u> revealed that San Francisco and Oakland police appeared to be <u><a data-post-id="7b5c2b0d-ff28-45bb-8433-1341229a244a" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/23/california-police-sharing-flock-license-plate-data/">illegally sharing license plate surveillance data</a></u> <u><a data-post-id="ba60bc48-a09e-467e-9811-d551a7573a2f" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/08/sfpd-flock-alpr-ice-data-sharing/">with out-of-state agencies</a></u> — including for cases related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The stories <u><a data-post-id="851fa9ce-2afc-4ccc-9e09-69f4c1bdca36" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/18/oakland-police-opd-lawsuit-flock-surveillance/">spurred a lawsuit</a></u> against the Oakland Police Department and protests across the Bay Area.</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left"><b>The unfunded PTAs</b></h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left"><u><a data-post-id="a2a9c6be-5da7-4ddd-813e-f9581ea3a155" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/04/02/sf-parents-pta-dark-money-crackdown-public-schools/">An investigation by The Standard</a></u> revealed the deep divide between SF’s haves and have-nots when it comes to private fundraising used to pay for extra staff and programs at public schools. In the 2023-24 school year, half of San Francisco’s public schools raised a combined $11 million. The other half raised just $352,000. Our story highlighted Guadalupe Elementary in the Excelsior, a Title 1 school where nearly three-quarters of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Its students excelled at soccer but had to play on cracked concrete. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">After The Standard published our investigation in April, a private-school parent donated $20,000 to the school for a soccer field. The turf was unveiled in May.</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left"><b>The spending (and cutbacks) at a city agency</b></h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">City Hall observers were shocked in March, when Kimberly Ellis, who ran the city’s Department on the Status of Women, was put on leave pending an investigation into alleged misspending at her agency. The Standard subsequently reported on a <u><a data-post-id="35304684-e6fb-43fb-9f5a-f52be569bb35" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/28/san-francisco-kimberly-ellis-shift-happens-womens-summit/">$600,000 summit the department hosted</a></u> that involved questionable expenditures and <u><a data-post-id="0f2c130e-a2b7-4866-9f12-b94d73bd77a2" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/27/san-francisco-kimberly-ellis-tahoe-department-status-women/">a city contract Ellis gave</a></u> to a “dear friend.” The resulting stories ended in Ellis being <u><a data-post-id="be4780b2-e9a0-4b47-8cd8-4aba1619a0bf" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/04/23/kimberly-ellis-status-women-department-ousted/">ousted by the department’s oversight body</a></u> and an <u><a href="https://link.sfstandard.com/view/6598287d041a52d41b07dc9apl62u.30g/ffeb1876" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ethics investigation<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> into one of its members.  </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Ellis’ departure had an impact on the department’s future. Lurie’s administration merged the agency, still reeling from scandal and with the bulk of its budget gone, with the Human Rights Commission, effectively placing the SF women’s department under the control of a man. The Standard’s <u><a data-post-id="a876ea1f-128c-4221-844b-807113779bdc" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/14/kimberly-ellis-gutting-sf-department-on-women/">reporting revealed how this move</a></u> — along with Ellis’ legacy as the department’s head — potentially hurts shelters, hotlines, and legal services dedicated to addressing gender-based violence.</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left"><b>The falling-apart playground</b></h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Parents in the Sunset had been pleading with the city to repair a playground in disrepair. The city informed them that it would take years to allocate funds from the budget to fix the site’s deteriorating rubber safety surface, which was causing children to trip and ingest the material. The parents reached out to The Standard, which <u><a data-post-id="228cdde0-0439-4e91-9e7b-fd06c3bd224d" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/02/san-francisco-playground-sunset-park-playground-cost-price/">published a story about the playground</a></u> and the whopping $600,000 price of the repair, pushing the city to push up the schedule. In November, the city announced it had started construction, with an expected completion date of March.</p></div></div>

Sunset supervisor blasts PG&E over Christmas Eve outage near Great Highway

<div class="content-grid article-content"><div class="Metadata_container__fxAzw"><div class="flex flex-row gap-x-md"></div><div class="Metadata_metadata__W_0LF"><span>By <a class="" href="https://sfstandard.com/author/han-li/">Han Li</a></span><time datetime="2025-12-25T19:31:25.011Z">Published Dec. 25, 2025 • 11:31am</time></div></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Some residents of San Francisco’s Sunset District experienced yet another power outage on Christmas Eve, rattling a neighborhood still reeling from a <u><a data-post-id="ca196b1f-bdc9-453f-ba2d-d2ddb32173da" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/23/san-francisco-blackout-pge/">multi-day blackout</a></u> that plunged one-third of the city into darkness last Saturday.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Around 8 p.m., a section of San Francisco near Ocean Beach lost power, according to the outage map from utility company Pacific Gas &amp; Electric. The outage lasted roughly 15 to 25 minutes, based on accounts from multiple residents in the area.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">However brief, the outage made an impact. Sunset Supervisor Alan Wong <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/alanwongsf/reel/DSrHSz_Dc02/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">posted a video in the dark<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> on social media criticizing PG&amp;E, calling the outage the fourth in his district this month.</p></div><div class="!p-0 !m-0"></div><figure class=""><div class="flex justify-center"></div></figure><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“We can’t have all these outages in my neighborhood all the time,” Wong said in the video. “It’s very disappointing and ridiculous.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wong has called for a hearing to demand answers from PG&amp;E. His office also sent a statement to the press around 11 p.m. on Wednesday.</p></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“This level of disruption is unacceptable,” Wong said in the statement. “In light of this latest outage, I will be asking city departments to evaluate what options may exist to strengthen oversight, reliability, and the long-term resilience of our electric system.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wong was <u><a data-post-id="9aec1433-059a-4523-95d9-b4e491107607" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/30/sunset-supervisor-alan-wong-appointment/">appointed</a></u> by Mayor Daniel Lurie last month and is running for reelection next June in a closely watched race.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Jessica Cen, a staffer in Wong’s office who lives near the Great Highway, said she was personally affected by the outage.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“When the power went out, I was thinking about cooking and was sitting on the sofa watching a movie with my mom,” Cen said in Cantonese. “If nearby families were in the middle of their Christmas Eve dinner, it could have caused real trouble.”</p></div><div class="w-full bg-warm-gray-50 border border-warm-gray-300 rounded-xl flex flex-col gap-md px-lg py-[20px]"><div class="flex flex-row text-medium leading-[1.1] text-black font-inter gap-xs"><span class="italic font-normal">More about</span><a href="https://sfstandard.com/tag/pacific-gas-and-electric/"><span class="font-bold underline decoration-highlight decoration-[3.2px]">PG&amp;E</span></a></div><ul class="flex flex-col gap-md"><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm pb-md border-b border-warm-gray-300"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/23/san-francisco-blackout-pge/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt="A long line of cars with bright red brake lights stretches down a dark city street at night, with illuminated buildings in the distant background." class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="3956" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_hqs6cds0it7sd56cgu9a0s0m7n/-S3840x2877-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_hqs6cds0it7sd56cgu9a0s0m7n/-S3840x2877-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 5280 3956'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="5280"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/23/san-francisco-blackout-pge/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">The blackout’s haves and have-nots: Why some kept power, while neighbors went without</h3></a></li><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm pb-md border-b border-warm-gray-300"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/23/sf-pge-power-outage-restored/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt="Two blue utility vehicles with PG&amp;E logos are parked near a large building's back entrance with metal curtains and fencing." class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="2668" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_i4m8e1mi8h4nh9rnh6h7rlp900/-S3840x2561-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_i4m8e1mi8h4nh9rnh6h7rlp900/-S3840x2561-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 4000 2668'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="4000"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/23/sf-pge-power-outage-restored/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">After 63 hours, power is fully restored, PG&amp;E says</h3></a></li><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/23/wtf-happened-waymo-blackout-industry-experts-have-guesses/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt="A white car with a rooftop sensor drives ahead of a police car with bright headlights on a wet street at night under streetlights." class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="4157" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_pogvdsi09d0hr7jr3fphip421d/-S3840x2560-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_pogvdsi09d0hr7jr3fphip421d/-S3840x2560-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 6236 4157'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="6236"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/23/wtf-happened-waymo-blackout-industry-experts-have-guesses/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">WTF happened to Waymo during the blackout? Industry experts have some guesses</h3></a></li></ul></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Neighborhood resident Lucas Lux, the president of Friends of Sunset Dunes, confirmed that power was restored before he and his son had time to walk out to see the lights out.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">In a statement Thursday morning, PG&amp;E called the outage storm-related, saying it impacted 3,853 customers at its peak. In the company’s parlance, a “customer” may refer to a single user or to a larger building with dozens of units.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“PG&amp;E has been preparing for these storms using AI technology and our storm outage prediction model,” spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian said. “PG&amp;E worked to restore power, safely and as quickly as possible.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The company is facing stiff political headwinds, with lawmakers calling for San Francisco to <u><a data-post-id="56a6efc0-4769-4ccc-9209-fc9668dc7a4b" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/san-francisco-pge-public-power-eminent-domain/">re-evaluate its relationship</a></u> with the embattled utility.</p></div></div>

PG&E and SF divorce? Lawmakers are getting papers ready after blackout

<div class="content-grid article-content"><div class="Metadata_container__fxAzw"><div class="flex flex-row gap-x-md"></div><div class="Metadata_metadata__W_0LF"><span>By <a class="" href="https://sfstandard.com/author/gabriel-greschler/">Gabe Greschler</a> and <a class="" href="https://sfstandard.com/author/david-sjostedt/">David Sjostedt</a></span><time datetime="2025-12-22T23:25:14.224Z">Published Dec. 22, 2025 • 3:25pm</time></div></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The weekend power outage that <u><a data-post-id="12af653b-e7a8-44c5-99f6-b71a9e10df87" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/pg-e-blackout-san-francisco-power-outage/">paralyzed large parts of San Francisco</a></u> has reenergized a decades-long fight between the city and Pacific Gas &amp; Electric, with lawmakers saying they are fed up with the investor-owned utility giant.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">State Sen. Scott Wiener <u><a href="https://www.threads.com/@scott_wiener/post/DSlE95xDWzg?xmt=AQF0rktQDDBJmr48LETDfn2Cm_MxDzmLv7jk9Ur5HqLZRoeLRzHGs99LahArV6YKf1S42Bak&amp;slof=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said in a social media post<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> Monday that he will introduce legislation next year for San Francisco and other cities to break up with PG&amp;E and form publicly owned utilities. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“PG&amp;E is too large, and it’s not adequately maintaining its infrastructure,” Wiener, who is running for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s <u><a data-post-id="25cd8b4d-6299-49fc-b9a2-b6ac2ed6d45a" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/16/scott-wiener-running-congress-nancy-pelosi-campaign-2026/">congressional seat in 2026</a></u>, said in a video on Threads. “It’s putting the interest of shareholders above the public interest. It’s time for San Francisco to break away.”</p></div><div class="!p-0 !m-0"></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">On Saturday, a fire at a SoMa substation left 130,000 homes and businesses without power during one of the busiest shopping days before Christmas. On Monday, Mayor Daniel Lurie <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DSkrruDCXLa/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> that approximately 5,000 customers remained without power. A similar fire and outage happened at the very same substation in 2003, <u><a href="https://sfcityattorney.org/state-puc-approves-pge-outage-settlement-targeting-reliability-and-safety-improvements-in-sf/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resulting in $6.5 million in fines<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> for PG&amp;E. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The utility has provided few details on what went wrong.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Supervisor Matt Dorsey said in an interview that he supports a public takeover of the grid, arguing that the city would be more accountable to residents than investor-owned PG&amp;E. He proposed that the city use bonds to acquire the infrastructure, a move he’s hopeful could be successful in a few years.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“This is a utility that, frankly, we should have had more than a century ago,” Dorsey said. “I think in the next several years, this is going to move forward. And I think San Francisco will be better for it.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Officials at City Hall and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission have led exploratory efforts to take over the city’s share of the PG&amp;E grid since the company filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Former Mayor London Breed and former City Attorney Dennis Herrera offered to <u><a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/11773007/san-francisco-offers-to-buy-pge-electric-grid-in-the-city-for-2-5-billion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">buy<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> PG&amp;E for $2.5 billion and made another proposal in 2020, post-bankruptcy. The utility declined both offers. The city reiterated its interest in <u><a href="https://www.sfpuc.gov/sites/default/files/news-releases/20230503_CIty_Letter_To_PGE.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a letter to PG&amp;E<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> in 2023.</p></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“PG&amp;E has a long track record of putting profits over the public good and has used every delay tactic in the book to stop San Francisco from expanding public power,” said Jen Kwart, spokesperson for the city attorney’s office. “But we were encouraged that the [California Public Utilities Commission] recently set ground rules that allow San Francisco to move forward with an independent assessment of the PG&amp;E grid’s fair-market value.” </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Determining that value would be a key step in pursuing eminent domain of utility infrastructure, if other legislative or buyout efforts fail.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wiener introduced <u><a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB917" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">legislation in 2020<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> that would have seen the state acquire PG&amp;E and turn it into a public, nonprofit utility. That bill did not receive a hearing, he said, blaming the company’s powerful political ties to Sacramento. The 2026 legislation he previewed on social media would allow for cities to more easily break up with PG&amp;E and create their own, smaller public utilities.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">A California Public Utilities Commission <u><a href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/documents/infrastructure/electric-reliability-reports/2024-reliability-reports/pge-2024-annual-electric-distribution-reliability-report.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reliability report from 2024<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> showed more outages and longer restoration times in San Francisco over the last decade. PG&amp;E said it has invested $3 billion in the city’s grid infrastructure over the last 20 years.</p></div><div class="w-full bg-warm-gray-50 border border-warm-gray-300 rounded-xl flex flex-col gap-md px-lg py-[20px]"><div class="flex flex-row text-medium leading-[1.1] text-black font-inter gap-xs"><span class="italic font-normal">More about</span><a href="https://sfstandard.com/tag/pacific-gas-and-electric/"><span class="font-bold underline decoration-highlight decoration-[3.2px]">PG&amp;E</span></a></div><ul class="flex flex-col gap-md"><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm pb-md border-b border-warm-gray-300"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/sf-restaurants-suffer-lost-sales-wasted-food-pge-blackout-/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt="People walk on a dimly lit street illuminated by red lights, with one woman in the foreground wearing earphones and holding a bag." class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="2976" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_1oamtgciph2sj5j2a0muhok70d/-S3840x2603-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_1oamtgciph2sj5j2a0muhok70d/-S3840x2603-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 4390 2976'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="4390"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/sf-restaurants-suffer-lost-sales-wasted-food-pge-blackout-/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">‘A nightmare’: Restaurants mourn lost sales, spoiled food in devastating PG&amp;E outage</h3></a></li><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm pb-md border-b border-warm-gray-300"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/san-francisco-blackout-what-we-know-pge/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt="A white PG&amp;E pickup truck drives through a flooded street, with yellow and white buildings reflected in the water." class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="5464" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_crct8scpgt2fd7aa5pa730u129/-S3840x2561-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_crct8scpgt2fd7aa5pa730u129/-S3840x2561-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 8192 5464'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="8192"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/san-francisco-blackout-what-we-know-pge/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">What we know about what caused San Francisco’s blackout</h3></a></li><li class="flex flex-row gap-sm"><a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/pge-waymo-regulator-cpuc/" tabindex="-1"><div class="flex-none w-[90px] h-[60px] overflow-hidden"><img alt="Two white autonomous Waymo cars with rooftop sensors are stopped at a crosswalk on a dimly lit street at night." class="object-cover w-full h-full lazyloaded" data-nimg="1" decoding="async" height="4284" loading="lazy" src="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_81tlur4pt906tfctc02mqlj27u/-S3840x2880-FPNG" srcset="https://assets.sfstandard.com/image/994911177489/image_81tlur4pt906tfctc02mqlj27u/-S3840x2880-FPNG 1x" style="color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 5712 4284'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'/%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=='/%3E%3C/svg%3E&quot;)" width="5712"/></div></a><a class="h-fit" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/22/pge-waymo-regulator-cpuc/"><h3 class="text-medium sm:text-lg leading-[1.3] font-medium text-warm-gray-900 font-ivar-headline">PG&amp;E and Waymo’s watchdog responds with a shrug after blackout</h3></a></li></ul></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“PG&amp;E has had the privilege and honor of serving the residents of San Francisco for more than 100 years, and we remain committed to serving San Franciscans for years to come,” a representative for the utility said in a statement, adding that any hold up in a public utility creation process is the responsibility of the city, not the utility. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">San Francisco’s “ongoing failure to specifically identify the PG&amp;E assets it wants to take and explain its grid separation plan has delayed both the CPUC’s valuation proceeding, and parallel proceedings under the California Environmental Quality Act,” the representative said.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">SFPUC did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">While three-quarters of the city’s power is generated by the Hetch Hetchy hydroelectric power system in the Sierra Nevada and purchased through the community choice aggregator CleanPowerSF, it’s delivered by PG&amp;E. The company owns and operates the distribution system that spans the city — the substations, poles, and power lines — parts of which have been in place since the late 1870s.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The city has tried to assume control of PG&amp;E’s infrastructure for decades. Complaints about the utility are numerous, with lawmakers and residents arguing that its rates are too high and that its investors are prioritized over customers. Additional concerns have been raised about how the company has <u><a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/11943157/how-pge-adds-months-long-delays-costs-to-new-housing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">delayed development projects<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u>. In recent years, PG&amp;E has been consumed with expensive infrastructure investments meant to harden the grid in areas of high wildfire risk well outside the city of San Francisco. But all ratepayers have been hit with high bills for those upgrades.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Angela Alioto, a member of the Board of Supervisors from 1989 to 1997, championed a failed push to take over the grid from PG&amp;E during her time in office. She’s not hopeful that a present-day effort would be successful. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“This should be the cherry on top of the hot-fudge sundae. This should be the tipping point. This should be ‘enough is enough,’” Alioto said. “But PG&amp;E is one of the most powerful corporations … in California. There’s certain elected officials that will not go against them.” </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Richard Hirsh, a professor of history at Virginia Tech and an expert on utility systems, said the battle between San Francisco and PG&amp;E is similar to what’s happening in other U.S. cities. Groups in San Diego; Portland, Maine; and Ann Arbor, Michigan, <u><a href="https://grist.org/politics/meet-the-communities-trying-to-take-over-their-local-electric-utility/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">are on campaigns<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> to take over from their own private utility companies. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“There’s always been tension between private ownership and public ownership of power in this country,” Hirsh said. Privately owned utilities, he added, often make the argument that cities don’t have the skills to run a highly complex electrical grid. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">There are more than 40 publicly owned utilities in California. In the Bay Area, Silicon Valley Power and Alameda Municipal Power provide public electricity at cheaper rates than PG&amp;E. In 1946, Sacramento formed its Municipal Utility District after years of battles with PG&amp;E. However, investor-owned utilities still dominate: Approximately 75% of electricity customers in California and 72% nationwide are served by private firms, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Hirsh said publicly owned utilities can mean lower prices, but it’s not a given. In the case of San Francisco, purchasing PG&amp;E’s equipment would be “an extremely expensive endeavor” that could require raising taxes. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“In theory, municipal utilities can provide services at lower cost because of lower financing and because they don’t have to pay dividends,” he said. “But that argument has been made for decades. And we don’t see municipal utilities have taken over for that reason.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left"><i>This story has been updated to include comment from PG&amp;E.</i></p></div></div>

Lurie orders $400M in city budget cuts amid worsening deficit

Asian Art Museum

Office of the City Administrator

Adult Probation Department

Airport

Arts Commission

Office of the Assessor-Recorder

Board of Appeals

Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors

Office of the City Attorney

Department of Children, Youth and Their Families

Controller's Office

Planning Department

Civil Service Commission

District Attorney's Office

Department of Building Inspection

Department of Early Childhood

Department of Emergency Management

Department of Police Accountability

Department of Public Health

Department of Public Works

Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Environment Department

Ethics Commission

Fine Arts Museums

Fire Department

Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing

Human Rights Commission

Department of Human Resources

Human Services Agency

Health Service System

Juvenile Probation Department

Public Library

Municipal Transportation Agency

Office of the Mayor

Public Defender's Office

Police Department

Port

Public Utilities Commission

Recreation and Park Department

Department of Elections

Retirement System

Rent Board

Sheriff's Department Office of Inspector General

Sheriff's Department

Department of Technology

Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector

War Memorial

Department on the Status of Women

General City Responsibilities

General Administration & Finance

Culture & Recreation

Community Health

Human Welfare & Neighborhood Development

Public Works, Transportation & Commerce

Public Protection

SF Civil Grand Jury

The Abatement Appeals Board provides a final review process for City permitting decisions. It ensures fair and efficient adjudication of permit-related disputes before an impartial panel. The board holds authority to make binding decisions on appeals concerning notices of abatement.

Abatement Appeals Board

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 1

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 2

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 3

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 4

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 5

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 6

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 7

The Access Appeals Commission provides final reviews for a wide range of City permitting decisions. It ensures an efficient, fair, and expeditious permit issuance process through an impartial panel. The commission holds authority to make binding decisions on appeals related to City permits.

Access Appeals Commission

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 1

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 2

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 3

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 4

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 5

The Adult Day Health Care Planning Council advises on the development and improvement of adult day health care services. It provides expertise in healthcare planning, policy recommendations, and program evaluation. Key responsibilities include assessing community needs and advising on service delivery enhancements.

Adult Day Health Care Planning Council

Adult Probation Department supervises individuals on probation and facilitates their reintegration into the community. It provides reentry and rehabilitative services, including victim restitution and financial assistance for crime victims. The department values public safety, offender rehabilitation, and community partnerships.

Cristel Tullock

The Advisory Committee of Street Artists and Crafts Examiners evaluates arts and crafts applicants and monitors program compliance. It conducts studio visits and public screenings to ensure adherence to established criteria. Members also revise program criteria and undertake additional tasks as needed.

Advisory Committee of Street Artists and Crafts Examiners

The Advisory Council on Human Rights advises on anti-discrimination laws and racial equity initiatives. It provides expertise on reparations and public policy impacts on Black communities. It guides efforts to establish partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities in San Francisco.

Advisory Council on Human Rights

San Francisco Airport manages air traffic operations and ensures safe aircraft movement. It provides parking facilities and maintains airport infrastructure to accommodate travelers and staff. The department oversees ground transportation and coordinates with airlines for efficient passenger services.

Mike Nakornkhet

The Airport Commission oversees policy and strategic planning for San Francisco International Airport. It makes key decisions on airport development projects and financial management. It ensures compliance with regulations and collaborates on initiatives like terminal naming.

Airport Commission

Airport Commission Commissioner 1

Malcolm Yeung

Jose F. Almanza

Mark Buell

Susan Leal

Airport Director

Animal Care and Control Department manages animal sheltering, adoption, and emergency response services. It enforces animal-related laws and regulations, ensuring the humane treatment and safety of animals. The department also provides public education on responsible pet ownership and animal welfare.

Animal Care and Control Department

Virginia Donohue

Animal Care and Control Department, Director

The San Francisco Arts Commission oversees the integration of arts into city life and ensures public access to cultural experiences. It makes decisions on public art programs and allocates grants to support local artists and performances. The commission actively shapes policies affecting the arts ecosystem in San Francisco.

Arts Commission Commissioner 1

Arts Commission Commissioner 2

Arts Commission Commissioner 3

Arts Commission Commissioner 4

Debra Walker

Suzanne Ferras

Jessica Rothschild

Seth Brenzel

JD Beltran

Marcus Shelby

J Riccardo Benavides

Nabiel Musleh

Charles (Chuck) Collins

Lydia So

Arts Commission Commissioner 15

San Francisco Arts Commission invests in a vibrant arts community and shapes cultural policy. It enlivens the urban environment through public art programs and supports diverse artistic expressions. The commission facilitates meetings and discussions to engage the community in cultural development.

Ralph Remington

Arts Commission, Director of Cultural Affairs

The Asian Art Commission determines policy and administers the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It oversees museum operations and collaborates with the Asian Art Museum Foundation on fundraising efforts. Commissioners ensure the museum's strategic direction and financial sustainability.

Asian Art Commission

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 1

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 2

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 3

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 4

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 5

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 6

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 7

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 8

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 9

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 10

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 11

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 12

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 13

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 14

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 15

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 16

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 17

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 18

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 19

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 20

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 21

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 22

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 23

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 24

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 25

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 26

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 27

Asian Art Museum showcases Asian art and culture through exhibitions and educational programs. It offers diverse collections and hosts special events to engage the community. The museum fosters cultural appreciation and understanding by providing access to its extensive art collections.

Dr. Soyoung Lee

Asian Art Museum, Director

The Assessment Appeals Board #1 hears property tax assessment appeals in San Francisco. It evaluates evidence presented by taxpayers and the Assessor to determine property values. The Board has the authority to make final decisions on assessments regardless of property type or value.

Assessment Appeals Board #1

Assessment Appeals Board #1 Commissioner 1

Assessment Appeals Board #1 Commissioner 2

Richard Lee

Stephen Wasserman

Adena Gilbert

Paul Bellar

Quirina Mitchell

Hilary Winslow

The Assessment Appeals Board #2 adjudicates property tax assessment appeals for San Francisco taxpayers. It evaluates evidence presented by taxpayers and the Assessor to determine accurate property values. The Board exercises authority to render final decisions on residential properties and specific real estate assessments.

Assessment Appeals Board #2

Assessment Appeals Board #2 Commissioner 1

Assessment Appeals Board #2 Commissioner 2

Assessment Appeals Board #2 Commissioner 3

Claire Ervin Lee

Louisa Mendoza

Joyce Lewis

Nicholas Goldman

Michelle Domingo

The Assessment Appeals Board #3 provides a platform for San Francisco taxpayers to contest property tax assessments. It conducts hearings where evidence from both taxpayers and the Assessor is evaluated. The Board makes binding decisions on property assessments based on presented evidence.

Assessment Appeals Board #3

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 1

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 2

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 3

Marc Dickow

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 5

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 6

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 7

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 8

Assesses property, applies exemptions, collects transfer taxes, and records official documents.

Assessor-Recorder

Joaquín Torres

The Ballot Simplification Committee ensures voter materials are clear and understandable. It reviews and revises ballot language to accurately reflect propositions and measures. The committee advises on simplifying complex legal and technical terms for voter comprehension.

Ballot Simplification Committee

The Bayview Hunters Point Citizens Advisory Committee provides policy advice on planning and land use matters in Zone 2 of Bayview Hunter's Point. It offers expertise in land use policies, zoning issues, and urban development. The committee advises the Board of Supervisors, City Boards, and commissions on relevant projects and initiatives.

Bayview Hunters Point Citizens Advisory Committee

The Behavioral Health Commission advises on mental health policy implementation and quality service delivery. It reviews and advocates for effective mental health services, ensuring policies meet community needs. It educates stakeholders to integrate mental health considerations into broader health strategies.

Behavioral Health Commission