SF Dispatch 10/5/25

Welcome to the SF Dispatch, a daily newsletter round-up to save you some time catching up on the latest headlines from billionaire funded to independent news.

Before the Sunday Shift Report, here is today's featured news:

A San Francisco supervisor has proposed that police and other city agencies should have no financial consequences for breaking a landmark surveillance oversight law. In 2019, organizations from across the city worked together to help pass that law, which required law enforcement to get the approval of democratically elected officials before they bought and used new spying technologies. Bit by bit, the San Francisco Police Department and the Board of Supervisors have weakened that law—but one important feature of the law remained: if city officials are caught breaking this law, residents can sue to enforce it, and if they prevail they are entitled to attorney fees. - via EFF

Hey, San Francisco, There Should be Consequences When Police Spy Illegally

A San Francisco supervisor has proposed that police and other city agencies should have no financial consequences for breaking a landmark surveillance oversight law. In 2019, organizations from across the city worked together to help pass that law, which required law enforcement to get the approval…

Electronic Frontier FoundationMatthew Guariglia

PALESTINE ORGANIZERS WIN: Divestment from Israel Becomes Policy for Alameda County

After a long campaign, organizers moved the county Board of Supervisors to adopt the Ethical Investment Policy on October 3. There is only one more procedural hurdle before full implementation.

Bay Area CurrentEric Muscosky

S.F. man who captained a Gaza aid vessel is now being held in an Israeli prison

A San Francisco native is among hundreds of activists being detained at an Israeli prison after that country’s navy intercepted a flotilla of boats bound for Gaza with supplies and humanitarian…

San Francisco ChronicleConnor Letourneau

🌁 Sunday Shift Report

Here's looking back at some of this week's featured stories

California Gives Uber, Lyft Drivers Collective Bargaining Rights | KQED

Critics say the law signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t do enough to help level the power imbalance between tech giants and drivers.

KQEDFarida Jhabvala Romero

Engardio’s Loss is a Blow to Conservative San Francisco - The Phoenix Project

The Phoenix Review offers news and commentary on the proposed right-wing takeover of San Francisco. Learn more about the billionaire agenda in short takes from the city’s savviest political observers.

The Phoenix Project

California leads the nation in this poverty measure — and S.F.’s is even higher

California’s poverty rate is once again the highest in the country, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. What’s more, that rate recently saw its first increase in more than a decade.

San Francisco ChronicleChristian Leonard

S.F. sheriff’s deputy arrested in alleged domestic battery case won’t face charges

DA says there isn’t enough evidence to charge 32-year-old San Francisco deputy, but sheriff’s department is investigating.

Mission LocalEleni Balakrishnan

How can S.F. families prepare if a relative is detained by ICE?

Attorneys from the Bar Association of San Francisco share how ‘mixed-status’ families can prepare if a relative is detained by ICE.

Mission LocalSage Ríos Mace

D8 supe race will create fascinating political battle - 48 hills

It’s the D8 incumbent and maybe the mayor against the Nancy Pelosi operation. What will Wiener do?

48 hillsTim Redmond

Lurie slams Newsom’s veto of sober housing law

The city recently opened its first abstinence shelter, with other programs underway. The mayor says the governor’s veto threatens that progress.

The San Francisco Standard[email protected]

Booing the mayor isn’t political violence - 48 hills

Violence by the billionaire class has threatened vulnerable communities for years. You can’t blame them if they show up and shout.

48 hillsTim Redmond

Judge blocks California law banning ‘captive audience’ meetings for workers

A California law prohibiting employers from requiring their workers to listen to anti-union messages has been blocked by a federal judge, who says it appears to violate employers’ freedom of…

San Francisco ChronicleBob Egelko

Lost in translation: Bay Area’s Chinese undocumented immigrants face court alone

Mission Local could only identify three Chinese-speaking deportation attorneys in the Bay Area, an undersized team serving hundreds.

Mission LocalMission Local Staff

San Francisco’s first ‘equity’ weed store was an epic failure. City Hall insiders may still pocket millions

A cannabis shop on San Francisco’s storied Haight Street had it all: prime real estate, star power, political clout and social justice. Then things got ugly.

San Francisco ChronicleChris Roberts

S.F. proposal to cut red tape on city contracts passes in wake of fight over obscure advisory group

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has passed a bill to streamline the city’s unwieldy contracting process, but the political struggle that stalled the measure for months is likely to…

San Francisco ChronicleLucy Hodgman

San Francisco Officials Respond to Trump Telling US Generals: ‘We’re Under Invasion From Within’ | KQED

The president’s remarks quickly drew criticism from local Democratic leaders and were met with lackluster applause from military officials.

KQEDSydney Johnson

Judge dismisses S.F. police union suit targeting policy that limits traffic stops

Judge Joseph M. Quinn found “legal defects” in suit attempting to undermine San Francisco’s policy limiting minor traffic stops

Mission LocalEleni Balakrishnan

SFPD spent 44% of Mission overtime budget on 24/7 police bus, captain says

For nearly 200 days, a police bus cost the Mission police station 44 percent of its monthly overtime budget, Captain Sean Perdomo said.

Mission LocalAbigail Vân Neely

California’s AI Safety Law Beats New York’s to Finish Line, but Trades Away Safety and Liability Provisions

California’s “first-in-the-nation” law to prevent accidents, cybercrimes and other catastrophic outcomes of AI was weakened after tech industry lobbying.

San Francisco Public PressJason Winshell

San Francisco’s latest answer for RV dwellers? An AI chatbot.

The San Francisco Mayor’s Office is testing a new solution for RV dwellers’ pressing questions on an upcoming parking ban, sources say.

Mission LocalMarina Newman

Lurie appointee to Airport Commission opposed measure to block ICE in California - 48 hills

‘So disappointing and scary for so many immigrants.’

48 hillsTim Redmond

How Scott Wiener is undermining affordable housing - 48 hills

Plus: A strange move to allow city donations to a law-enforcement group, and why SF should buy apartments from a bankrupt landlord. That’s The Agenda for Sept. 28-Oct. 5

48 hillsTim Redmond

S.F. ‘sustainability’ dollars paid for Sunset Dunes hammocks, skate park

It turns out that ‘sustainability’ and ‘significant financial investment’ are both difficult terms for Rec and Parks to define

Mission LocalJoe Eskenazi

How San Francisco’s Harm Reduction Strategies Are Changing Under Mayor Lurie | KQED

San Francisco is expanding a harm reduction program inside permanent supportive housing while cutting back on street-level safe supply distribution.

KQEDSydney Johnson

A Government Shutdown is Here. How Will the Bay Area Be Affected? | KQED

Now the federal government shutdown is here, what can the Bay Area expect? From social services and courts to national parks and Fleet Week, here’s what we know.

KQEDAdhiti Bandlamudi

‘No driver, no hands, no clue’: Waymo pulled over for illegal U-turn

“Our citation books don’t have a box for ‘robot,’” the San Bruno Police Department quipped.

The San Francisco Standard[email protected]

📰 Local Headlines

City Hall

S.F. Powell Street cable car shuts down for repairs
via www.sfchronicle.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Here’s how to park on the new Valencia Street
via missionlocal.org | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Politics

PALESTINE ORGANIZERS WIN: Divestment from Israel Becomes Policy for Alameda County
via bayareacurrent.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Exclusive: Trump is sending California National Guard troops to Portland, Newsom says
via www.sfchronicle.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

‘Breathtaking abuse of power’: Newsom rebukes Trump’s National Guard deployment
via sfstandard.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

New SALT cap means savings for California homeowners. Here’s how much
via www.sfchronicle.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Criminal Justice

Repeat offender in deadly New Year's Eve crash seeks diversion, sparks outcry
via www.ktvu.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Public Safety

Saturday Links: Climber’s Fatal Fall on El Capitan Inadvertently Livestreamed by TikToker
via sfist.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Day 207 at the 16th St. Plaza: Trucks move onto the plaza
via missionlocal.org | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Immigration

Westside Businesses Respond to Threat of Potential ICE Raids
via richmondsunsetnews.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Business

Plan to open a chain Pilates studio in S.F.’s Mission District sparked a revolt
via www.sfchronicle.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Sam Altman is Looking Forward to When AI Takes His CEO Job So He Can Be a Full-Time Farmer
via sfist.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Culture

Five places to try in Palo Alto
via newsletters.48hills.org | Push to Kindle | Source Link

S.F. and its mind-boggling AI ads remind us that the city is changing, again
via www.sfchronicle.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

When a gang bang becomes a love story
via sfstandard.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

They really went and did it: They tacked a new house onto a 115-year-old one
via sfstandard.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Human Rights

S.F. man who captained a Gaza aid vessel is now being held in an Israeli prison
via www.sfchronicle.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Opinion

Assembly: Catherine Stefani
via richmondsunsetnews.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Commentary: Paul Kozakiewicz
via richmondsunsetnews.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Arts and Events

Field Notes: Tarantulas, Ghost Tours, Floating Flicks, Blight to Bling, and Stonestown Buzz
via sfist.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Cultures converge in S.F.’s Chinatown as hundreds celebrate Bruce Lee’s legacy
via www.sfchronicle.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Black Cowboy Parade brings history to life in West Oakland
via www.ktvu.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Scaled-back Fleet Week to proceed in San Francisco despite government shutdown
via www.cbsnews.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

The first rule of Taser Knife Fight Club is …
via sfstandard.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link

Miscellaneous

‘Around the Corner’: AK Meats Goes Old School
via richmondsunsetnews.com | Push to Kindle | Source Link