The Weekly Digest (January 26, 2025)

Written By Bill Jackson

Happy Sunday, Brionies! 

Here’s what you need to know about local politics this week and beyond:

San Francisco City Hall 

  • Monday, January 27 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Rules Committee (agenda here): 

    • Item 1: Ordinance to create the Cole Valley Entertainment Zone, deleting the requirement that an “event be a special event permitted by…the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.”

    • Item 4: Ordinance adding the Bay Area Law Enforcement Assistance Fund to the list of organizations to which City officers and employees may make donations by payroll deduction.

  • Tuesday, January 28 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Transportation Authority Board (agenda would normally be linked here, but there isn’t one published online, which is odd given the controversial nature of transportation issues in San Francisco): 

    • (Crickets…)

  • Tuesday, January 28 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda here):

    • Mayor Lurie will attend, in accordance with the once-a-month cadence mandated by the City charter.

    • Item 25: Hearing on the proposed moving of the (very controversial) Valencia Street bike lane from the center of the street to the curb. The lane move will still upset many, as parking spaces on streets that intersect Valencia will be removed to accommodate bike-share locations. The City really punched itself in the face with this entire project.

  • Wednesday, January 29 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee (agenda here):

    • Item 7: Ordinance to exempt vacant businesses from the (dumb) vacancy tax if the businesses were in a “named neighborhood commercial district or named neighborhood commercial transit district” in which public infrastructure or construction projects lasted more than 180 days. This is essentially a waiver of the (dumb) vacancy tax for merchants who had to endure the years-long Taraval improvement project.

    • Item 8: Core Initiatives to Strengthen City’s Responses to Homelessness, Drug Abuse, Mental Health Needs, and Related Crises. This is the first hearing to hash out the details of Mayor Lurie’s “fentanyl ordinance,”  which aims to streamline the building of shelters, hire mental health and addiction professionals, and direct more police to Sixth Street to address drug-dealing.

Calls to Action

  • This is probably the easiest Call to Action we’ll ever put forth: have a drink! The San Francisco GOP had a viewing party for President Trump’s inauguration at Harry’s Bar, and when certain wrong-headed lefty busybodies found out about it, they decided to bomb social media sites with negative reviews of Harry’s because they (for shame!) let Republicans in the door. Firstly, boycotts based on political affiliation are dumb, people. Secondly, Harry’s has hosted fundraisers and parties for all manner of political groups, on both sides of the aisle. So, if you’re able, head over and give them some business. 

  • Consider adding your name to ConnectedSF’s list of folks supporting Mayor Lurie’s Fentanyl State of Emergency and opposing a new charter amendment about redistricting.

Happenings Around Town

What we’re reading

  • So, we’ve had a new mayor in San Francisco for 18 days. How’s it going? Is everything fixed yet? Well, no, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t in motion. As mentioned in the City Hall report above, Wednesday is the first chance for the Budget and Finance Committee to dive into the details of Mayor Lurie’s fentanyl ordinance. Similar to how congressional Democrats think that President Trump was supposed to solve egg prices four days into the job, plenty of San Francisco residents are asking why we’re still seeing the “fentanyl fold” two weeks after Lurie’s declaration of a “state of emergency.” But in actuality, Lurie can’t declare a state of emergency – the City Attorney stopped London Breed from doing just that – because an emergency has to be “sudden or unexpected,” and the current fentanyl crisis is, sadly, neither. This means that Lurie has to go through the legislative process. Wednesday’s meeting marks Lurie’s first charge into the breach, and we wish him well.

  • In other Lurie news, we respect the fact that he’s trying to keep his focus on San Francisco, not national politics. Unfortunately for him, many Dems, both “moderate” and progressive, keep trying to drag him back in, Michael Corleone style. Given the outsized voice the left has here, it may be tough for Lurie to keep mum on national news altogether. Hopefully, he learns from Newsom’s example that trying to Trump-proof your jurisdiction is a huge distraction, especially when you need that sweet, sweet federal $$$. 

Quick hits


This week in San Francisco history

  • On January 29, 1849, a group of miners arrived in San Francisco with gold they had mined in the Sierra Nevada foothills, further fueling the gold rush that would transform the region and the city over the next few years. Eureka!



Bill Jackson
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