ONV Volunteers at the League of California Cities Conference Anaheim, September 23, 2026
In 2024, Our Neighborhood Voices, a 501(c)(4) campaign committee, welcomed the formation of a 501(c)(3) sister organization, Our Neighborhood Voices Education. The sister organization was created to illuminate the issues and empower the public and city governments regarding their rights and possible solutions regarding local control. It has built a statewide following and a network of local activist groups. Together, these groups increased public and local-government awareness of the issues and possible solutions, culminating in Friday’s vote of 253 California cities.
Gary McCoy, left, and Michael Trung Nguyen are the Bay Area Reporter’s first and second choices, respectively, in the race for District 8 supervisor.
Establishing a historic district in the heart of San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood may not have as enthusiastic a supporter of it once gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman leaves office in January. Of the four candidates seeking to succeed him at City Hall, just one has come out in full support of the creation of the historic district.
Gay Twin Peaks resident Michael Trung Nguyen, a patent attorney also known as drag queen Juicy Liu, told the Bay Area Reporter “absolutely, absolutely” when asked if he would support the designation for the Castro. As the B.A.R. was first to report last week, Mandelman introduced a resolution September 22 to initiate the process to incorporate the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street and several blocks on adjoining streets into a Eureka Valley Commercial & Castro Village LGBTQ+ Historic District.
It must first move out of the supervisors’ land use committee then be brought up for a full vote at the board before taken up by the city’s historic preservation and planning commissions. Once those oversight bodies weigh in, then an ordinance to officially establish the historic district will need to be introduced at the board and be approved by the supervisors.
With just three months left to get anything adopted by the board this year, it is likely it will fall to Mandelman’s successor to designate the 93 parcels identified by planning officials as part of the city’s 15th historic district. It would be the first centered around an underserved community… (more)
IN SUMMARY: California lawmakers sent Gavin Newsom hundreds of bills in his final months as governor. Here’s how he handled proposals to counter the Trump administration, lower the cost of living, crack down on data centers and boost retirement plans for public employees.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is signing and vetoeing his last bills as California governor.
Wednesday is the final day for Newsom to weigh in on 1,160 bills that were sent to him by state legislators.
The governor, widely understood to be gearing up for a run for president, wanted the spotlight on some bills more than others. Special attention was paid to placing guardrails on artificial intelligence and standing up to President Donald Trump…(more)
Tenants and anti-displacement organizations want San Francisco to use funds from an existing real estate transfer tax to develop mixed-income social housing and provide rent relief.
Amid skyrocketing rents, a flood of evictions and an additional $25.1 billion needed to reach San Francisco’s state-set affordable housing production goals by 2031, Proposition I has sparked fierce debate.
One of several housing-related measures on the ballot this November, the Affordable Housing Guarantee Act — which could dedicate an estimated $120 million annually toward affordable housing — could create hundreds of units a year in mixed-income developments and bolster displacement prevention services. Evictions are at an 11-year high, prompting Mayor Daniel Lurie to declare a rent emergency.
“With rent skyrocketing 30-plus percent, our city needs to do better,” Christin Evans, co-founder of Small Business Forward, said to cheers at an Aug. 16 rally celebrating the measure. “With 100 million per year in revenue that’s expected from this measure, we can take more housing off the speculative real estate market, build more affordable housing and keep tenants in their homes.”
Proposition I would redirect money from a transfer tax on the sale of properties, dedicating revenue from sales valued at more than $10 million to a new House SF Fund. Currently, revenue from the tax on these sales goes into the city’s general fund, where it can be spent more freely.
The measure would not raise taxes and includes a tax break for new multifamily developments but Lurie calls it an “unaccountable slush fund” — even though the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development would control the money the tax generates. Supporters of the measure, who include affordable housing advocates and tenants rights groups, said they put it on the ballot because elected leaders have been ignoring the will of the people since 2020, when voters increased the real estate transfer tax on high-value sales and approved an ordinance allowing the city to buy and/or develop up to 10,000 units of low-income rental housing… (more)
September 26, 2026 SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation changing how prosecutors can reinstate charges dismissed by a judge at a preliminary hearing, requiring prosecutors to present evidence and obtain judicial approval before those charges can be restored. The bill signed by Newsom, AB 1917, or the Respect Judicial Decisions Act, would require district attorneys to file a motion to add charges dropped by a judge during a preliminary hearing… (more)
The mayor’s proposed reforms include six ordinances and more than $30 million in investments, and addresses three areas fueling the rent emergency: protections from unwarranted evictions and “sudden rent spikes” while beefing up the city’s enforcement of tenant rights.
Lurie did not announce any immediate action and it’s unclear when renters in the city can expect any tangible relief as the median rent in San Francisco has risen over 25% in the last year.
The incredible increase in prices has allowed some landlords to take advantage of the booming economy by driving rents up to “astronomical” levels, according to City Attorney David Chiu. The city is now asking renters to report any wrongdoing to the city attorney’s office….
While local and state law limit some rent increases, there are numerous carve-outs to those laws that leave many San Francisco renters at risk of unlimited rent increases. Some tenants have seen rent increases as high as 90% during this latest housing crisis…
The mayor’s most progressive effort is to reaffirm his support for District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder’s proposed legislation to prevent evictions that are issued for less than a month’s worth of unpaid rent.
Introduced this month, the law would bar a landlord from evicting a tenant for nonpayment unless they’re owed at least one month of the fair market rent…(more)
Still no mention of the numerous unfilled housing units that exist in the city today. Seems like that filling those should one a priority. Read the rest of the article to see more suggestions by other supervisors.
For nearly 20 years, the corner building at 18th and Mission has sat empty — and derelict. Not much remains of the structure, which was modernized in the 1930s with a sleek curved front, neon clock and large windows and that once housed the largest stove store on the West Coast. It has become a canvas for graffiti, wheatpasted advertisements and the backdrop for street vendors.
Then, in 2017, it became a symbol of some small hope: 63 below-market-rate condos for teachers were to be built on the lot, part of a push to make living in San Francisco affordable.
That project is now on hiatus. More than a year ago, after nearly a decade of trying, the city quietly hit pause on the Mission Economic Development Agency’s plans to build teacher housing. The city cited a lack of both funds and a feasible financing plan, according to emails obtained by Mission Local… (more)
Obviously SF priorities are elsewhere. The city has limited fund and they are less concerned with this project than they are with supporting the highly contested SFMTA and Rec and Park projects.
Housing, transit and parks are all in the same pot of fundable projects that seem ripe for turning into slush funds.
The former Pacific Rod and Gun Club property at Lake Merced before remediation. Decades of skeet and trap shooting left the site contaminated with lead shot and debris from clay targets.
San Francisco is moving ahead with plans to transform the former Pacific Rod and Gun Club site at Lake Merced into a new recreational destination — and is looking for an outside organization to develop and operate it.
The Recreation and Park Department on Friday, August 21, issued a Request for Proposals seeking organizations to lease, develop and operate all or part of the Lake Merced West property for recreational use.
The approximately 9.5-acre property at 520 John Muir Drive could be leased for as long as 20 years, according to information provided by Neal Patel, manager of Rec and Park’s Property Management Division.
The solicitation marks a significant step toward determining the future of a large piece of publicly owned waterfront property — and is likely to intensify a debate already underway among Lake Merced residents.
At a July 29 community meeting at the Lake Merced Boathouse, nearly 50 residents gathered to discuss the site’s future. Some objected to putting public park property under long-term outside operation, while others questioned why San Francisco should develop another recreational complex when an existing city-owned boathouse sits about a mile away.
A 20-Year Lease on Public Land
According to Rec and Park, the City is seeking proposals that would provide opportunities for public recreation, take advantage of the lakeside setting, increase public enjoyment and appreciation of the Lake Merced watershed and maintain water quality.
The department is also inviting community nonprofit organizations interested in operating or programming the site — including organizations considering partnerships with other entities — to submit letters of interest by September 24.
A pre-submittal meeting is scheduled for September 3, followed by site visits September 9 and September 22. Questions about the RFP are due November 20, and final proposals are due December 17.
City Disputes ‘Public-Private Partnership’ Label
The role of private interests emerged as one of the most contentious issues at the July community meeting.
Residents warned that long-term private control of public park property can be difficult to reverse. One participant pointed to the controversial Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park as a cautionary example of a private attraction remaining on public parkland longer than some residents expected.
Rec and Park, however, has pushed back against characterizing Lake Merced West as a finalized public-private partnership.
Sarah Madland of the Recreation and Park Department said in an August 18 email that the project has not been finalized into a specific legal structure.
The distinction may prove important as the City evaluates proposals. The RFP nevertheless contemplates an outside organization leasing, developing and operating publicly owned land for as long as two decades.
88,000 Tons of Contaminated Material Removed
The property comes with an unusual environmental history…
A New Complex — One Mile From the Old One
The existing Lake Merced Boathouse, about a mile from the Lake Merced West property, already provides waterfront facilities, docks and space for recreational programs.
Xavier Becerra says California needs to build more housing by reducing permitting times and making affordable housing funding easier to access, but he doesn’t want to say how many new homes he would deliver as governor. To address inequality, he’s considering whether the public should own shares of artificial intelligence companies, but he won’t commit to pursuing that policy.
If the Democratic candidate’s promises remain vague to Californians who, polls show, widely favor him for governor this November, he has an explanation — in the form of a regret dating back to 1993.
After campaigning against the North American Free Trade Agreement, the first-term Los Angeles-area congressmember was persuaded to vote for it, believing that adding some labor protections and a domestic lending program would shield American workers and small businesses from foreign competition. It only took a few years, Becerra recalled in an interview with CalMatters, to see American jobs displaced anyway.
For the young politician, it was a “pivotal lesson” with an enduring takeaway: Don’t back anything until you’re sure.
“No one gets my vote unless I know what I’m voting for completely,” he said… (more)
The former Pacific Rod and Gun Club property at Lake Merced before remediation. Decades of skeet and trap shooting left the site contaminated with lead shot and debris from clay targets.