California has lost a quarter of its newspapers and half its newsroom staff in the last 15 years. San Francisco has lost more than half of its neighborhood newspapers over the last decade or so. Your contribution will help the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers and RichmondSunsetNews.com to publish for many years to come.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already August. As we inch closer to the fall season, there is a lot of activity happening in the Sunset District. Students will soon return to classrooms, thousands of tourists will visit our neighborhoods as they attend concerts in Golden Gate Park – and we all find ourselves on the precipice of a divisive election cycle.
The fog reaches Taraval Street early and stays late. This far west, where the L-Taraval train slides toward the ocean and the marine layer settles over the Avenues, the Parkside keeps a tempo all its own, a step slower than the rest of the City. Since June, a bright, two-story cafe at 1100 Taraval St. has leaned all the way into that slower pace. Jandii is built around a single idea, that the time between meals matters as much as the meals themselves.
I’ve been asked several times this month whether it makes sense to pay extra each month to pay off a mortgage sooner. It’s a good question, and the answer depends on your personal financial situation.
The Inner Sunset is about to become even more attractive thanks to a number of beautification and improvement initiatives. The nonprofit SF New Deal launched the Inner Sunset Neighborhood Vibrancy Fund, a program that supports new and existing small businesses in the commercial corridor. Made possible with generous support from Inner Sunset neighbors, the fund will provide grants in three categories: up to $10,000 for storefront beautification, up to $5,000 for technical assistance and up to $20,000 for businesses taking over a vacant storefront. Applications will be reviewed by a central team and a community advisory group of Inner Sunset neighbors, the Inner Sunset Merchants Association and Inner Sunset Park Neighbors (ISPN). The grant is open to small businesses located between Fifth Avenue and 19th Avenue, bounded by Lincoln Way and Kirkham Street. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with priority given to applications submitted by Aug. 28. Learn more and apply at sfnewdeal.org/inner-sunset.
The vocals of the 45-year-old resident of Kensington (just north of Berkeley) are as smooth as charmeuse, confidently improvisational and seemingly effortless, although her perfectionism leads to a lot of tinkering with songs before Wolf is willing to put them out into the world.
When Frank McGinn opened Amazing Fantasy in August 2000, he thought it would take weeks of painting, cleaning and stocking before the comics shop would open. But on the Sunday he took possession of the storefront, Irving Street neighbors poked their heads in to see what was replacing the old Comics and Comix location. They immediately dove into to help: cleaning and painting, whatever it took. One neighbor brought his truck to take away loads of rubbish. On the following Saturday, the shop opened. Community, it seems, has always mattered here.
Michael Durand, the former Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers, passed away on May 30 following a diagnosis of metastatic melanoma. He is greatly missed.
“Being in the ocean is like breathing,” Sachi Cunningham said. “If I’m not in the ocean for a period of time, I feel like I’m not me. It basically allows me to be who I am, which is an ocean lover.”
Valeriya Romashchenko opened Cuprum Bakery in 2024, offering sourdough and other baked goods produced in her home kitchen in the Inner Richmond. The popularity of Romashchenko’s cottage bakery, like her sourdough bread, is rising in the Richmond District and beyond.
Walk up to a plum-colored house, just steps away from Golden Gate Park and you will find fresh sourdough bread stacked neatly on a white rack on the stoop, waiting to be bought. Here is where Inna Pak, a Richmond resident and full-time mom, operates her new microbakery, Plum Perfect.
Nearly every bar in the Richmond District held watch parties for the 2026 FIFA World Cup games that took place from June 11 to the final match on Sunday, July 19 where Spain won against Argentina 1-0.
Last month, Green Apple Books on the Park celebrated Maria Lenhart, an acclaimed journalist and writer who has authored more than 100 publications. The event celebrated her latest book, “Lost Treasures of San Francisco.”
Mill Valley painter Christiane Lyons has dedicated the last decade of her life to her series, which she, somewhat facetiously, calls, “Some Women.” The oil paintings are collage-like, yet more refined. There is also a double or triple-exposure effect in the depiction of the women. The work is figurative, abstract and surreal. It is easy to be drawn to the colorful, layered pieces. There is a soft beauty to them. But a closer, more pensive examination reveals an indictment on the objectification of women in history and in current times.
Instead of waiting for their orders by the pick-up counter, customers of Constance Tea & Matcha often flock to the back of the studio, where three granite stone mills are actively grinding tencha leaves into the fine green powder that will fill their drinks. At most cafes in the U.S., this step is done thousands of miles away, but at Constance, it happens just 20 feet from the register.
The 50th anniversary celebration is on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 2335 Clement St. at 25th Avenue from noon to 8 p.m., during the Heart of the Richmond Night Market.
