Hyperlocal News + Stories

Workweek Catchup: San Francisco Records First Homicide of 2026 After Mission District Shooting
Hyperlocal News + Stories

Workweek Catchup: San Francisco Records First Homicide of 2026 After Mission District Shooting

Plus: Claude gets a new street named after him ahead of the remembrance ceremony, and the world’s biggest popstar could be coming to SF. On Thursday night, San Francisco police responded to a call involving a shooting at the intersection of 16th Street and San Bruno Avenue next to Highway 101. When officers arrived, on-site first responders discovered a victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound.  Unfortunately, the individual was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics after life-saving measures performed on the victim failed to revive them. Per Bay City News, the shooting was reported about 9:42 p.m. and involved at least one victim — the individual discovered by onsite officers and paramedics, who was later pronounced dead. As of publishing, no further information is...
SF Food News This Week: Taco Bell’s Hyped, Waterfront Cantina Opens in SF Tourist Hot Spot
Food + Drink, Hyperlocal News + Stories

SF Food News This Week: Taco Bell’s Hyped, Waterfront Cantina Opens in SF Tourist Hot Spot

Plus: A beloved Chinatown staple closes, and yes … you can still find $1 wings in San Francisco. Taco Bell elicits one or two reactions from the general population: a feeling of utter jubilation, wrapped with young-adult nostalgia, or an opinion of disdain and disgust. Thankfully, the vast majority of us fall into the former — Crunchwrap dreams and bean burrito wishes.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Daniel Lurie (@danielluriesf) That popularity led to an explosion in the fast food restaurant’s physical footprint over the past decade; Taco Bell saw its international restaurant figure nearly triple from 400 to over 1,000 locations between 2017 and 2024 alone. Its Cantina iterations...
Wayward Deer Filmed Crossing SF’s Golden Gate Bridge
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis, News to Know

Wayward Deer Filmed Crossing SF’s Golden Gate Bridge

2026 might as well be called the “Year of the [Rogue] Deer" in San Francisco after one was filmed crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on hoof. After last year’s toll increase, it now costs just a quarter shy of $10 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco from Marin. That price, too, will only get higher; a five-year plan approved by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD) in 2024 will see at least $0.50 annual increases through 2028. There remain just two sure-fire ways to cross the Golden Gate Bridge into SF without paying a dime: become a pedestrian or saddle up on a bike or scooter. (Mind you: Only people riding bikes or scooters can use the Golden Gate Bridge’s pedestrian sidewalk after sundown — a longstanding policy implemented to mitigate ...
California Is Completely Drought-Free for First Time in a Generation
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

California Is Completely Drought-Free for First Time in a Generation

If you're Gen Z, you might be experiencing a strange first this week: the entire state of California emerging out of drought conditions. Record rainfall numbers have swelled California reservoirs, re-wetted parched ground, and filled rivers and lakes far beyond their normal water levels. (As of publishing, every single California reservoir is over 100% filled — with the state’s largest ones each over 125% above their historic averages.) It’s already proving to be a banner year for California rainfall averages … all of which has left the state completely drought-free for the first time in over two decades. For the 1st time in 25 years not a single square mile of California is dry on the US Drought Monitor. Have to go back to December 2000 to find a similar situation. If you're 25 or ...
Workweek Wrap-Up: Rare Severe Thunderstorms and Hurricane-Like Winds Hit SF Bay Area on Christmas Day
Hyperlocal News + Stories

Workweek Wrap-Up: Rare Severe Thunderstorms and Hurricane-Like Winds Hit SF Bay Area on Christmas Day

Plus: RIP to a National Park's legend and, not-so-shocking, Elon Musk's DODGE was basically a massive flop. Hopefully, Santa wasn’t wearing conductive metal jewelry and had his sleigh grounded early Thursday before high winds and lightning strikes filled the skies above San Francisco. San Francisco is no stranger to wet December weather. Historically, the last month of the calendar year is typically the rainiest spat; last year, as well as the year before that, saw record-breaking levels of precipitation that caused flash flooding; lightning strikes, too, have lit up the region in rare form the past few winters. While it was a milder winter, San Francisco didn’t escape the usual rain spells and high winds during the Christmas Holiday. The day leading up to Christmas saw the beginnin...
All SF Neighborhoods Affected by Blackout See Power Back On, PG&E Does Bare Minimum by Issuing Credits
Hyperlocal News + Stories

All SF Neighborhoods Affected by Blackout See Power Back On, PG&E Does Bare Minimum by Issuing Credits

The 130,000 PG&E account holders — a figure that represents roughly a third of San Francisco's population — affected by the recent SF blackout saw their power fully restored on Tuesday. After about 72 hours since PG&E first reported blackouts last Friday, all accounts affected by what’s colloquially become the Great San Francisco Blackout of 2025 have been restored — 130,000 households now, indeed, have power. Roughly a third of San Francisco’s residential population found themselves in the dark as a result of a vulnerable substation catching fire, though the utility has mentioned the “root cause” of the event is still under investigation. Critics have panned PG&E, the city’s foremost and only electrical utility, for its management of the blackout, citing its antiquated equ...
Cal Academy Announces Date for Memorial of Beloved Albino SF Alligator
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis, News to Know

Cal Academy Announces Date for Memorial of Beloved Albino SF Alligator

January 18th will see crowds gather inside Golden Gate Park to pay their respects to San Francisco's famous, most beloved reptile, Claude. Claude’s sudden passing took San Francisco (and the nation … and the world) by surprise. At just over 30 years old, Claude, the all-white albino American alligator at San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences, was a tentpole of the city. For 17 years, he called the aforementioned science center home, acting as its unofficial mascot and foremost reptile ambassador. Claude silently battled with digestive cancer, which later caused secondary infections throughout his body, for sometime — years, perhaps — before his untimely passing on December 2nd after becoming lethargic and visibly ill. Notes, paintings, postcards, and other physical homages...
And Just Like That, the Power Came Back on in San Francisco … Sans a Few Vulnerable Neighborhoods
Hyperlocal News + Stories, News to Know

And Just Like That, the Power Came Back on in San Francisco … Sans a Few Vulnerable Neighborhoods

3,800 PG&E account holders are still without power in San Francisco — but respite (read: their electricity) will be restored no later than tomorrow morning. As of Monday, December 22nd, the vast majority of San Francisco that suffered from Saturday’s historic power outage — a blackout that affected 130,000 households, leaving about a third of the city’s residents in darkness — have their lights back on. PG&E has restored the remaining Richmond District customers affected by the Mission outage. We expect to restore the remaining 3,800 customers by 6 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23. https://t.co/QEpkT6mLFp — Pacific Gas & Electric (@PGE4Me) December 22, 2025 In a series of announcements and posts on social media, PG&E shared that “most” of the customers affected by the recent...
Waymo Services Back Online in SF After Dystopian Robotaxi Traffic Jams
Hyperlocal News + Stories

Waymo Services Back Online in SF After Dystopian Robotaxi Traffic Jams

The Google-owned robotaxi company began offering rides in SF on Sunday, following San Francisco's history-making blackout. Waymo has had … shall we say, an eye-opening past 24 hours. The Google-owned company’s driverless cars were seen — filmed, photographed — congesting roadways or outright bricking yesterday amid SF’s historic blackout, resulting in it disbanding service throughout the City. (The only other time Waymo’s suspended service in San Francisco was earlier this month, when Anti-ICE protests erupted after it was announced national guard units were en route to the SF Bay Area in support of federal deportation measures.) This is insane, Waymo vehicles all over SF are bricked due to a power outage. https://t.co/2AnKB80Qj7 pic.twitter.com/HnHPjq7FcB — Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzp...
3 Earthquakes Rattle SF Bay Area With Swaths of San Francisco Still in the Dark
Hyperlocal News + Stories, Nature + Climate Crisis

3 Earthquakes Rattle SF Bay Area With Swaths of San Francisco Still in the Dark

As if pulled from a B-tier dystopian movie, a series of sizable earthquakes struck San Ramon this weekend, sending shockwaves that could be felt as far away as Fremont. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded three proper tremors this weekend that were registered in San Ramon, about 34 miles west of San Francisco. The first of the three quakes was the largest, a 3.9 magnitude tremor recorded Saturday evening, created aftershocks on Sunday capable of being felt in the South Bay, registering 3.0 magnitude and 2.8 magnitude in strength, respectively and chronologically. These tremors, however, only created “light” shaking that could be felt about 15 miles away from each one’s epicenter. Notable quake, preliminary info: M 3.9 - 5 km SE of San Ramon, CA https://t.co/Jp28brqg9q ...