Recent police activity in the Richmond District.
Police Blotter: Richmond District
Assembly: Catherine Stefani
The end of May marked one of the most important milestones in our legislative calendar. By this deadline, bills must pass out of the legislative chamber where they were first introduced in order to continue moving forward to the next stage of our legislative process.
Commentary: Quentin L. Kopp
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.”
City Hall: Connie Chan
This year, as we prepare to tackle San Francisco’s budget deficit, I, as chair of the San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s Budget Committee, called a number of hearings to help bring transparency and understanding to what is at stake in this year’s budget and what it means for all of us. This is my fourth year as the Budget Committee Chair, where I have worked with two different board presidents and two different mayors to help guide our City’s finances to provide a stronger and more resilient San Francisco. I believe that, throughout these four years, we have done a lot of good work to trim waste, increase efficiencies and guard against corruption. These hearings were intended to help Budget Committee members understand the progress we have made as well as hear the priorities of everyday San Franciscans.
Past and Present Woven Together in ‘Nengi Omuku: The Gathering’
You can’t separate the art from the artist. With Nigerian painter and humanitarian Nengi Omuku, that is a really good thing, as opposed to infamous misogynist Pablo Picasso, pedophile and bigamist Paul Gauguin and murderous pimp Caravaggio (born Michelangelo Merisi).
Outer Richmond’s Newest Bookstore Started in a Driveway
About four years ago, Chelsea Brown started setting up a small shelf of books in front of her garage on Saturdays. Naming it “The Celestial Library,” she said it felt like the perfect way to meet neighbors and share her overflowing book collection. Soon, lending and sharing books led to buying books and hosting story time events, which revealed the growing need for a neighborhood bookstore. With the community’s support of more than $30,000, she will fill that need by bringing a brick-and-mortar bookstore called Celestial Books to the Outer Richmond later this year.
Cal Academy Utilizes A.I. after Laying Off 50 Employees
The California Academy of Sciences announced layoffs of 53 employees in late April as part of an effort to close a projected budget deficit exceeding $8 million. Some workers have continued to work, but on June 30, the layoffs will fully take effect, eliminating the 173-year-old San Francisco institution’s ability to produce its own planetarium shows or create graphics for its public floor.
Madland Appointed New General Manager of Rec and Parks
Sarah Madland, the new head of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, is entering her position promising transparency and that everyone will have the opportunity to express feedback.
Chan and Wiener Move on to November’s Race
District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and State Sen. Scott Wiener will advance to November’s election for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the end of election night, with 49% of the votes counted, Chan was in second place with 28.6% of the vote, while Saikat Chakrabarti was in third with 14.9%. Wiener leads the pack with more than 40,000 votes (41.26%), and pulled the majority of votes from precincts citywide.
From the Editor: Remembering Michael Durand
I am sad to say that on Saturday, May 30, Michael Durand peacefully passed away after 70 years of life. He will be dearly missed… He has been an incredible mentor, friend and teacher to me and so many other young journalists. I will always be grateful for the time we spent together and truly touched by the opportunities he has given me.
‘Pet Pix’: Richmond District
Send up to three photos of your pet to Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com for consideration for “Pet Pix.” Please include your pet’s name.
Photos of the Month: May 2026
To submit photos for consideration in the Photos of the Month online gallery, send three jpegs to Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com by the 15th of the month.
Real Estate: John M. Lee
The upcoming June 2026 election in San Francisco’s District 4 is shaping up to be a definitive referendum on the neighborhood’s identity. Centered in the Sunset District, this race, along with a quartet of ballot propositions, carries significant implications for the City’s political trajectory and impacts the local real estate market, to a certain degree.
Candidates’ Corner: Meet the Front-Runners
This month, westside voters will receive their ballots for the June 2 primary election. One of the most notable items on the ballot is the congressional race. These four candidates will go head to head in attempts of securing Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s D-11 seat in the House of Representatives.
California Coastal Commission Approves San Francisco’s Housing Plan
San Francisco’s proposed Family Zoning Plan cleared an important bureaucratic hurdle in April when the California Coastal Commission (CCC), the state’s quasi-judicial agency which has jurisdiction over the coastline, approved it with a 10-1 vote.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 