San Francisco’s urban conversation tends to focus on downtown nightlife, restaurants, entertainment and major cultural institutions. But each October, the west side reveals another kind of nighttime city: families walking, neighbors gathering, illuminated homes and block parties. The Sunset, Parkside and Richmond neighborhoods come alive, with October traditions like BalBOOa Fright Fest, Movies in McCoppin, ScareGrove and The Great Hauntway. Notably, nearly every event is family-friendly.
In a speech in Parliament about parliamentary reform on March 2, 1830, Thomas Babington Macaulay declared: “I believe there are societies in which every man may safely be admitted to vote. …I say sir, that there are countries in which the condition of the labouring classes is such that they may safely be entrusted with the right of electing members of the Legislature. …Universal suffrage exists in the United States without producing any very frightful consequences.”
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the state of California on Sept. 21, to bolster preparedness for this upcoming winter’s El Niño storm season. For long-time residents, strong El Niño events recall visions of heavy rainstorms and potential flooding compared to our normally mild winters.
As I research ballot initiatives and candidates for every election, most important to me is to identify how much money is being spent to influence my vote. As a member of the Green Party, I firmly believe that money should not buy elections. Unfortunately, it very frequently does.
Throughout the past few years, media coverage has endlessly fixated on traffic volume metrics, safety statistics and granular debates about commute times. Yet, amid the noise of endless technical debates, something fundamental and crucial is missing from the conversation: the immense, transformational and long-term benefit of building a lasting community within Sunset Dunes Park compared to the fleeting, short-term convenience of turning it back into a coastal highway for car traffic.
The following propositions are stated to be on this fall’s ballot. Click on each link to learn about the specifics of each proposition.
I’ve worked with fellow community activists to create the inaugural Westside Forward Voter Guide. Our grassroots group evaluated selected ballot measures by asking four questions: Will they help working families and seniors afford to stay? Will they protect community participation and accountable government? Will they sustain essential public services? And will they ask the wealthiest people and largest interests to contribute their fair share?
Proposition G on November’s ballot is for the Upper Great Highway, the scenic roadway near Ocean Beach where generations of San Franciscans have traveled to the Cliff House, V.A. Hospital, the San Francisco Zoo and numerous other points north and south.
September used to be the month I returned to school after being released in the middle of June. That’s gone with the wind. San Francisco public schools opened up for business on Monday, Aug. 17, two weeks before Labor Day. My Napa grandsons, Emmett and Brooks (16 and 12) reported for academic duty in their schools on Aug. 10. Naturally, football practice began even before that.
Although the June special election feels like it just happened, District 4 voters will return to the polls this November to elect a supervisor for a full four-year term. I’ve been surprised by how many neighbors didn’t know there was another election.
I am running as an independent candidate for District 2 Supervisor because I love this City and believe we can do better.
There were a total of 61 candidates for California governor on your June 2 primary election ballot. In addition, there were seven write-in candidates that you may or may not have heard about. How did you vote? Did you support a candidate you really liked because of the positions he or she took on issues? Was your vote influenced by whether or not your candidate had a chance of winning? Did you make your choice based on which candidate is the most popular in opinion polls? Do you rely on political advice from friends and neighbors? Or, are you influenced by the mountain of political literature that arrives in your mailbox and advertisements that flood all types of media?
Last month we learned from a reported City Hall audit that a wily operator, former Chief Assistant Treasurer Tajel Shah, ignored procurement rules to ensure that a $7 million City Hall contract for a new tax collecting system went to tech corporation Mechanical Orchard. The system handles billions of dollars in San Francisco‘s infamous business taxes. City Attorney David Chiu, City Controller Greg Wagner and the Controller’s Auditor of City Services uncovered Shah’s perfidy. Shah never revealed her friendship with the chief revenue officer of Mechanical Orchard whose subcontractor (Ratio PBC) then hired Ms. Shah’s niece. A complaint was thereafter filed by a knowledgeable citizen with the Ethics Commission in late 2024. The San Francisco Standard reported such malefeasance on Sept. 25, 2025. Mechanical Orchard pulled out of contract talk the day before Shah’s perfidy was revealed. Shah resigned on Nov. 21, 2025.
On March 5, 1946, Winston S. Churchill spoke at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, having traveled 1,000 miles with then President Harry S. Truman from Washington D.C. to do so (Churchill also observed: “I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken over me.”)
To ensure taxpayer obliviousness, the Rail Authority claims “real progress” on the project and says almost 80 miles of “guideway” are complete in Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties, plus “171 miles under design and construction from Merced to Bakersfield.”
