As part of the San Francisco Arts Commission's Mellon-funded Shaping Legacy Project, five artists will create temporary installations honoring communities and histories that have often been overlooked in the city's public monuments.*

The San Francisco Arts Commission launched its Mellon-funded Shaping Legacy Project in 2023 to examine the city's collection of public monuments and identify gaps in representation, as SFist reported. The project's audit phase concluded with the release of a final report in May 2025, and the initiative has since shifted into a public engagement phase focused on new installations, education, and community programming, as ABC 7 reports.

In recent years, the city removed the Christopher Columbus statue outside Coit Tower and the controversial “Early Days” monument in Civic Center, both of which drew criticism for their depictions of colonialism and the treatment of Indigenous people.

The report also cited monuments honoring figures with limited connections to San Francisco, including Robert Emmet, Simón Bolívar, and Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, which ABC7 notes have been raised in discussions about representation in the city’s public art landscape.

Arts Commissioner Charles Collins told the outlet that the goal is to provide greater context for existing monuments while expanding representation in future public art.

“San Francisco is the epicenter of a really wonderful set of histories that we now can begin to open up more, explore and bring others in their own way into the dialog as opposed to, we with authority say what it should be," said Collins, speaking to ABC 7.

In April, the Arts Commission announced the next phase of the Shaping Legacy Project, which will feature five artists' temporary installations throughout the city. The installations are scheduled to launch sequentially between May and October 2026 and use media such as light, textiles, performance, and augmented reality to highlight histories of labor, migration, displacement, and other stories often absent from traditional monuments.

The commission also points to more recent efforts to broaden representation in public art, including Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman, which honors Maya Angelou. According to ABC 7, officials and community members have also called for greater recognition of figures such as William Leidesdorff, one of San Francisco's earliest Black civic leaders, and for more acknowledgment of the role Chinese Americans played in building the city's infrastructure, agriculture, and labor history.

In a column for the Chronicle last month, Collins argues that the city should distinguish between memorials, which reflect on historical events and losses, and monuments, which celebrate civic values.

“In Washington, DC, for example, the Lincoln Memorial stands as a solemn reflection on the Civil War’s human tragedy,” writes Collins, “while the Washington Monument celebrates the enduring idea of democracy embodied in a new nation.”

Collins writes that San Francisco should memorialize the genocide of the Ramaytush Ohlone and other Indigenous people while creating new monuments that reflect contemporary values and a broader range of community experiences.

The temporary installations selected through the Shaping Legacy Project initiative will reportedly honor Black workers at Hunters Point Shipyard as well as Chinese American and Central American garment workers.

Collins says he hopes the works spark discussion and encourage residents to think more critically about how the city represents its history in public spaces.

*This story has been updated to clarify that the Shaping Legacy Project is focused on expanding representation in public art rather than evaluating monuments for removal, as well as to reflect the project's current phase and installation timeline and to clarify the attribution of comments regarding existing monuments.

Previously: SF Performing an Audit of City’s 98 Statues to Determine If Any Should Be Removed for Being Racist or Sexist

Image: A statue of Irish nationalist Robert Emmett, by Victor Hugo Barrenchea-Villegas, a gift from the Venezuelan government in 1981; Wally Gobetz/Flickr

The ‘Fire Horse,’ which arrives every 60 years, is long associated with upheaval and transformation, appearing at pivotal moments in modern San Francisco history as far back as the Gold Rush era and revealing recurring social patterns across generations.

Based on the lunar calendar and dating back more than 3,500 years to the Xia dynasty (circa 2070–1600 BC), the Chinese zodiac was used by rulers to track time and plan significant events, according to expert Vicki Iskandar, who spoke to the History Channel. While most people know the zodiac’s 12 animals, the underlying system is older and more complex.

It operates on a 60-year sexagenary cycle that pairs the 12 Earthly Branches with the 10 Heavenly Stems. The Branches mark the hours, months, years, seasons, and natural rhythms, while the Stems reflect the yin and yang forms of the five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, forces seen as expressions of shifting cosmic energy, according to the site Imperial Harvest.

The 12 animals were added during the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) to represent the years and make the zodiac system easier for the public to use. Each year is assigned an animal paired with an element in its yin or yang form, as each element stays on the calendar for two years. While most years are simply known by their animal name, certain combinations — like the Fire Horse — carry a strong reputation.

See the Ted-Ed video below for a whimsically illustrated explainer on how the animals were chosen for the calendar via the “Heavenly Gate Race.”

The 60-year cycle shows how history ebbs and flows, with familiar tensions resurfacing during each generation. The years preceding a Fire Horse (Water and Wood years) typically see a buildup of social tension and unrest. The Fire Horse year brings upheaval to the surface, while the following years (Earth and Metal) often usher in reconstruction and institutional reform.

1846

The first significant Fire Horse year in modern-day San Francisco dates back to 1846, during the Mexican-American War, just a couple years before the first Chinese immigrants arrived during the Gold Rush. In July 1846, when the region was a small Mexican colony known as Yerba Buena consisting of a few hundred people, US soldiers came ashore and raised the American flag at what’s now known as Portsmouth Plaza in Chinatown, marking US occupation of the area. In January 1847, Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco, and California became a state in September 1850.

Before 1846, Spanish-speaking landholders under Mexican rule, called Californios, dominated politics and land ownership, including a few women, such as Juana Briones, who was often referred to as the “Founding Mother of San Francisco.” Large ranchos concentrated wealth among Californio families, while many Native Californians were left landless and forced into wage labor. Political authority was precarious, and foreign traders were expanding in Yerba Buena. After the US takeover, new laws stripped many Californios of their land.

During the Gold Rush (1848–early 1850s), San Francisco’s frontier boom transformed the city’s population from around 1,000 full-time residents in 1848 to 25,000 by 1850, creating extreme gender imbalances that pushed men into domestic roles, drag performances, and same-sex social bonds.

Amid this fluid social scene, Indigenous, Latino, Black, and Chinese migrants built communities even as legal exclusions like the 1850 Foreign Miners’ Tax targeted minority laborers. Indigenous residents faced dispossession, disease, and targeted killings, while other migrants risked violence over mining claims.

The scarcity of women and the high demand for sexual services fueled sex work, including coerced labor, especially among migrants and Indigenous women, while others ran boardinghouses, laundries, and food businesses.

Notable female entrepreneurs included Ah Toy, the first and best-known Chinese American sex worker and madame in SF, and Black abolitionist Mary Ellen Pleasant, who built a network of laundries and boardinghouses, helped fellow Black migrants secure jobs and housing, and used her wealth to advance civil rights causes in the city.

San Francisco grew rapidly following the Gold Rush. The 1850s saw the city grappling with lawlessness, marked by the Vigilance Committees, while the 1860s brought expansion and connection through the transcontinental railroad. Tensions rose in the 1870s and 1880s, with anti-Chinese riots and labor strikes reflecting social and economic unrest. The 1890s were shaped by the fallout from the Panic of 1893, which brought widespread unemployment and hardship, followed by a slow recovery that laid the groundwork for the city’s turn-of-the-century growth.

1906

In April 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent fires killed more than 3,000 people and left roughly 250,000 homeless. Relief favored property owners, pushing working-class, poor, and minority residents — especially Chinese — to refugee camps. Indigenous people and migrants continued to face dispossession and violence, while displaced Black residents moved to East Bay neighborhoods. Women and working-class residents, including activist Mary Kelly, led direct actions to secure food, clothing, and housing, shaping early urban advocacy.

In the years leading up to 1906, conservative groups like the Asiatic Exclusion League (1905) pushed for immigration restrictions and segregation, while labor disputes and national Progressive Era reforms shaped debates over public health, suffrage, and working conditions.

In the years after, reconstruction and reform reinforced racial, class, and gender hierarchies. Anti-Asian and anti-queer policies intensified, yet displaced communities, including Black and Chinese, rebuilt commercial and entertainment districts, sustaining vibrant social life and laying foundations for San Francisco’s enduring cultural institutions.

From the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco spent the following decades rebuilding its streets, neighborhoods, and social fabric. The 1910s and 1920s brought expansion in finance, shipping, and culture, even as Prohibition and labor unrest stirred tension. The 1930s Depression tested the city with unemployment and strikes, while World War II transformed its economy, drawing in a diverse workforce and accelerating migration from across the US. By the 1950s and early 1960s, San Francisco had become a hub of postwar growth, suburban influence, and cultural ferment, setting the stage for the social, artistic, and political upheavals that would define 1966.

1966

During the years prior to 1966, grassroots campaigns, union organizing, and student protests at UC Berkeley built networks that would fuel new movements. Local communities faced police violence, housing inequality, and poverty, setting the stage for radical responses.

In 1966, several pivotal events marked a revolutionary Fire Horse year. The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland to combat systemic racism and provide community programs, while the Hunters Point Uprising erupted after the police killing of 16-year-old Matthew Johnson. That same year, trans women and queer patrons resisted police harassment during the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, which predates the Stonewall Riot in NYC by three years. Feminist activism also surged nationally with the formation of NOW.

In the years that followed, intersectional activism expanded. San Francisco’s first Pride event, a Gay-In in Golden Gate Park, was held in 1970. The Black Panthers grew nationally, the San Francisco State College strike won ethnic studies programs, LGBTQ+ and feminist organizations emerged, and anti-war movements mobilized. Local unrest intersected with global currents like the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which inspired anti-elite and anti-capitalist ideas among Bay Area radicals.

San Francisco over the late 20th and early 21st centuries underwent waves of cultural, economic, and political transformation. The 1970s saw countercultural movements, LGBTQ+ activism, and protests against the Vietnam War reshape neighborhoods and civic life. The 1980s and 1990s brought tech-driven economic shifts, gentrification, and growing social tensions. Activism during the Iraq War and the Occupy movement shaped the early 2000s, along with the election of Barack Obama, followed by the Trump administration’s policies, the rise of Black Lives Matter, and conflicts like Gaza and climate change fueling mass demonstrations. The city also confronted public health crises, including fentanyl and COVID-19, alongside housing instability and climate pressures.

2026

Leading up to 2026, the tech industry and billionaire influence have continued to steer urban development, labor structures, and the pace of public policy. Under Trump’s administration, aggressive ICE enforcement, attacks on diversity and equity protections, and threats to programs like SNAP and Medicaid inflamed community tensions, while vaccine debates and public health policy became cultural battlegrounds.

Trans rights emerged as a flashpoint in schools and public discourse, sparking both fierce advocacy and organized backlash. Additionally, the impact of the climate crisis intensified, and artificial intelligence accelerated, largely optimized for profit, automation, and market dominance rather than public good.

There has also been resistance. Union victories, including wins by SF hotel workers in 2024 and most recently, the United Educators of SF's historic teachers' strike in February — its first strike in nearly 50 years, signaled renewed worker power, alongside local efforts to expand housing protections, raise minimum wages, and strengthen safeguards for gig and service workers. ICE and Gaza demonstrations, as well as broader civil rights organizing kept the streets politically vibrant, even as economic consolidation continued forging its path.

As we move through a tumultuous 2026, the patterns of the Chinese zodiac serve as a reminder of the cyclical nature of life, with the Fire Horse bringing long-simmering tensions into the open.

If technology has so far been wielded primarily as a wealth-extraction engine, this moment presents a fork in the road — to redirect AI, data systems, and digital infrastructure toward climate resilience, equitable healthcare, strong labor networks, and civic participation.

We were promised a future of connection and liberation. The next turn of the cycle asks whether we’re finally ready to build it that way.

BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 17: A Chinese dancer dressed in traditional style clothing waits before performing a Yingge dance, from southern China, during Lunar New Year celebrations at the Dongyue Taoist Temple, on February 17, 2026 in Beijing, China. China is celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse and Spring Festival which began on February 17th. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Previously: Photos: Pair of Giant Horse Statues Ring In the Lunar New Year ‘Year of the Horse’ In SF

This week: Live music on the ferry, a “boujee” club for all ages, a hand-drawn map of Berkeley, wild radish, and a donkey reality show. Plus, Public Domain Day at the Internet Archive, the local legacy behind an ‘80s hit, and the Asian Art Museum explores rave culture.

Music on the water

Friday ferry rides picked up a new rhythm this month as SF Bay Ferry began hosting live performances on select routes through the month of January. The “Tides and Tunes” series brings local musicians, bands, and DJs onto the fleet’s larger vessels with room to host small performances.

The performances come at no extra cost beyond the regular ferry fare. The series runs at select times on Fridays, with artist Lolah returning for another set on January 23. — KPIX

The legacy of a hit

“Rumors” by Timex Social Club started as a song written by East Bay teens and went on to become one of 1986’s biggest hits, selling more than a million copies. The track still shows up in DJ sets and party playlists, even as most people know little about the group behind it.

In his book, How Do Rumors Get Started, founding member Marcus Thompson details how the band formed in Oakland, recorded the song on basic equipment, and quickly found national success. It also follows what came after, including industry disputes, broken agreements, and the breakup of the group in the years following the song’s rise. — SFGate

Cultural artifacts made public

Each January, a new batch of music, books, and films enters the public domain, and the Internet Archive marks the moment by opening the doors to creative reuse. This year includes works from 1930 like “Georgia on My Mind,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” The Maltese Falcon, and early Nancy Drew stories.

The Archive frames the public domain as a way to keep culture accessible, especially as copyright battles have narrowed access to its digital library. The celebration includes a daylong online event and an evening gathering at the Internet Archive (300 Funston Avenue, SF), centered on remixed films made from newly public works on January 21. — Mission Local

Paths on paper

Tattoo artist and illustrator Danielle Hopkins has drawn a hand-rendered map of the Berkeley Hills that traces stairways, rock parks, and winding streets with the elaborate detail of someone who walks them often. After she shared an early version on Nextdoor, neighbors began showing up at her door to buy copies.

She’s sold about 30 so far and given others away, including to neighbors who became friends through the process. The map grew out of her move from San Jose to Berkeley and her attachment to the hills, especially the Tamalpais Path, which she calls a brutal climb with a view worth the effort. — Berkeleyside

Pulse and light

At the Asian Art Museum, Rave into the Future: Art in Motion looks at dance culture through the work of West Asian artists shaped by diaspora, memory, and movement. The exhibition brings together multimedia installations, sculpture, and sound to explore how music and dance create spaces of connection, privacy, and release.

Highlights include Sahar Khoury’s commission with a working DJ deck, Yasmine Nasser Diaz’s bedroom-as-dance-floor installation, and Joe Namy’s copper-tiled floor that records every step taken on it. The show, which is curated by Naz Cuguoglu and features work by 10 artists based in the U.S. and Europe, remains on view at the Asian Art Museum through January 26. — The Chronicle

Candy-colored commons

In Walnut Creek, Ruby Lou’s is opening as a place where birthday parties, cocktail hour, and casual play all blur together. Built by longtime mixologist and set designer Megan Abraham Benshalom and named for her daughter, the space leans into bright color, built-in board games, claw machines, and furniture that looks pulled from a candy shop daydream.

The menu mirrors that split personality, with Wagyu hot dogs, short-rib nachos on housemade chips, and a full cocktail program alongside an ice cream bar and “yolo” sundaes for kids. It’s designed for families in the afternoon and adults after dark, without forcing either group to leave the room. Ruby Lou’s is open now for private events and plans to open to the public very soon. — Bay Area News Group

Salt on the buds

Out in the Baylands, invasive wild radish began flowering in late December, its pale purple and white petals standing out against the marsh. Unlike wild mustard, which blooms yellow, the radish can be identified by its four-petaled flowers and its edible parts from top to bottom.

The leaves, buds, and seed pods can all be eaten, carrying a mild, peppery bite, and sometimes a trace of salt from the coastal air. There’s even a small radish root at certain times of year, though most foragers prize the greens and buds. It grows alongside plants like sea asparagus in the San Francisco Baylands, where winter still yields plenty of plantlife. — The Bay Forager

From pasture to prime time

A Northern California donkey rescue has found a national audience through a reality series on ABC. Donkey King follows the day-to-day work at Oscar’s Place, a Mendocino County sanctuary that takes in donkeys from auctions, surrenders, and unsafe conditions, and either rehomes them or gives them a permanent home on the ranch.

The nonprofit has rescued more than 400 animals, and each episode centers on the care and recovery of one donkey, with staff balancing medical needs, transport, and trust-building. The show airs Saturday mornings on ABC, with episodes available to stream for free afterward at donkeyking.com. — The Press Democrat

Top image: Performance by TCS; activation of 'For Your Eyes Only' by Yasmine Nasser Diaz; Photo by Tracy Nguyen/Asian Art Museum

Previously: Field Notes: Fairy Rings, Waterfalls, SF Library Map, and New East Bay All-Ages Music Venue

In case you've wondered why there's a place called Christmas Tree Point, and a street on Twin Peaks named Christmas Tree Point Road, it's that time of year to recount the story behind this.

Yes, San Francisco has a spot that remains on maps called Christmas Treet Point, as well as that road named for it, despite the fact that this hilltop on Twin Peaks has not seen a Christmas tree lit on it for 75 years.

It is certainly a visible spot that would make for a festive tree installation, and that was the idea behind the original Christmas tree installed there in 1927, spearheaded by the city's former newspaper of record, the San Francisco Examiner. The Examiner announced its plans that year to install a tree on Twin Peaks, and as the Chronicle's Peter Hartlaub recounts for us this week, big-money interests and City Hall got involved, helping to fund the cutting down and transportation of a giant, 120-foot tree from Mendocino.

That tree proved so massive that it had to be cut into parts with all of its limbs removed, and then reassambled like a Lincoln Log structure with hole drilled in the trunk for the formerly attached branches to stick out of. Once decorated, the tree apparently still looked quite spectacular. It was lit up until 3 am each night, and reportedly could be seen from Marin County and across the East Bay.

What follows is a very San Francisco story that you might even find surprising given the timeframe. As this historical account on OpenSFHistory tells it, and as Hartlaub also explains, the Examiner Christmas Tree, as it was called, only lasted for a couple of years — even though it was popular, and there was even a gateway set up at the bottom of what's now Christmas Tree Point Road for visitors to get up close to the tree for a look.

The tree returned in 1928 and again in 1929, the year the Depression began. But its first couple years were met with loud protest from St. Francis Wood resident and local tree lover Charles “Sandy” Pratt. Pratt, a gravel magnate with a business in Santa Cruz, enjoyed decorating a redwood in his own yard every year with strings of lights for the Christmas season. He scorned the practice of cutting down fir trees to decorate and then discard them every year as a "slaughter of the innocents," and he founded a group called the Outdoor Christmas Tree Association that handed out redwood seeds around the Bay for people to grow their own, permanent Christmas trees that wouldn't need cutting.

He also, according to his 1958 obituary, would dig up redwood seedlings from forests to give to friends at the holidays.

Pratt's fight against the Examiner Tree was celebrated by the rival San Francisco Chronicle, per Hartlaub, ahd Pratt then successfully lobbied Golden Gate Park Superintendent John McLaren, then 82, to start decorating the 120-foot Monterey cypress outside his office at the edge of Golden Gate Park, on Stanyan Street.

Uncle John's Tree, as it's become known, was first lit up with twinkling lights on December 20, 1929, and a new city tradition was born. That became the city's "official" Christmas tree as of 1931, and that was pretty much it for the Examiner Tree — the funding of which might also have dried up during the Depression.

Per the Chronicle, the San Francisco Police Department, looking to steal some thunder from the San Francisco Fire Department, installed a Christmas tree one more time at Christmas Tree Point in 1950, after the SFFD started their annual contest decorating fire houses around the city.

Bay Area librarian Mychal Threets to host ‘Reading Rainbow;’ lost jazz treasures; creative mutual aid; painted cars; bling from “bips;” ghosts in the city; tarantulas at Mt. Diablo; films on the bay; hidden views; and Jins and DSW open at Stonestown Mall.

Cinema on the bay

The Roxie Theater is teaming up with Red and White Fleet this month to host a unique sailing movie theater — a hybrid-electric vessel turned open-air cinema with the San Francisco skyline as its backdrop.

Cocktails, snacks, and complimentary popcorn keep the decks lively while films flicker across multiple screens. This year’s lineup spans cult favorites like Top Gun, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Carpenter’s The Fog. Screenings run Friday nights through October on the bay. — The Whimsy Soul, Red and White Fleet

Unexpected view

Amidst nearly 360-degree views atop Broadway and Taylor in San Francisco, sits the most unique view of the Golden Gate Bridge in town, which is easy to miss. While standing near the northern crosswalk of the intersection, facing north toward Alcatraz, if you take a look at the apartment building on your right, there’s a set of mirrored windows that perfectly frame the iconic bridge.

When SFist was taking photos at the intersection (see Saturday Links), we nearly missed the hidden gem. We circled the area snapping photos for several minutes when we noticed the large windows at eye level and observed how annoying it must be to live right there where bystanders can look in — hence, the mirrored windows. Intentional design choice or not, the result was pretty spectacular. — SFist

Shadows in the city

Local paranormal investigator Ying Liu leads guests through San Francisco’s streets and architectural sites, weaving ghost stories into the city’s nightly pulse. In Chinatown’s Grand Star, her crew claims they saw a crying woman in the bathroom mirror and a floating figure sliding past empty seats.

At the Warfield, a thermal camera caught what looked like a human face etched in cold. Even a narrow alley by the Transamerica Pyramid carries its own restless presence. Tours available through Haunted Bay. — KRON4

Red earth wanderers

As the days shorten and Halloween creeps closer, Mount Diablo’s trails become overrun with male tarantulas who emerge from their burrows in search of mates this time of year.

The females wait quietly underground, some of them decades old. Just a short 2.5-mile loop from Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center brings the possibility of finding some fuzzy, eight-legged creatures, if you dare. — Bay Area Hikers, Weekend Sherpa

Art and cruisers

Rose B. Simpson’s LEXICON at the de Young pairs two art cars, Maria and Bosque, with monumental clay figures, blending ancestral Tewa techniques with contemporary flair. The cars’ painted surfaces echo pottery designs, while the towering sculptures are rough-textured, adorned with beads, branches, and symbolic markings.

Together, they create a dialogue of craft, lineage, and imagination, a space where metal, clay, and color converge. The exhibition moves between tradition and invention, embodying stories that span generations. — Alta

Echoes in a suitcase

At SCRAP, the Bayview arts and crafts reuse center founded by Ruth Asawa, a small suitcase turned up among the usual donations — inside, hundreds of photos, magazines, and autographs tracing the vanished history of the Fillmore’s “Harlem of the West.” The collection once belonged to Warren “Duke” Bynum, a doorman and jazz lover whose circle spanned icons like Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton.

Volunteers traced the suitcase’s path through time, linking it to Bynum’s widow, Jimmye, and to neighbors and students still carrying the Fillmore’s creative spirit. Now, those images and memories are being revived in writing workshops at the Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center, where community elders are turning rediscovered history into living story. — Mission Local

Blight to Gem

In Oakland, designer Sydney Jones transforms shattered car windows into wearable art. Her line, Bips, turns the aftermath of break-ins — those glittering piles of broken glass along the curb — into tiny gems.

Through her Odd Commodity Shop, Jones also upcycles bottles and lab glass into candles and vases, merging sustainability with urban storytelling. She sells her creations at local markets and online, offering beauty from what the city leaves behind. — The Oaklandside

West side buzz

Stonestown Galleria continues to fill up — with very few vacancies remaining, as DSW and Tokyo-based Jins Eyewear opened their doors Friday. H&M will be added to the mix at the end of November. In addition to strong anchor stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target, and Sports Basement, the mall offers a variety of food and boutique options, as well as activity-based destinations to attract young patrons, including Regal Cinema, Activate gaming facility, and Round1 Bowling & Arcade.

SFist paid a lunchtime visit this week and found the shops to be quite bustling. When we heard that Tokyo-based Jins had returned after closing its Union Square location in 2022, we headed on over to obtain our third pair of Jins glasses, which are very stylish and were ready in 30 minutes. (Nose pads are a must for our miniscule nose bridge, we’ve learned.)

We will definitely be back to the mall soon to hit up DSW and try out some Japanese cheesecake from Uncle Tetsu. — SFGate

Mystery line, giving hands

At a pop-up table in Golden Gate Park, a wheel of chance and a tin of jelly beans double as an invitation to care. Creative Mutual Aid, founded by artists Sara Rubenstein and Joe Mitchell, turns everyday encounters into small acts of support — a watercolor for a stranger, a bar of soap for comfort, a few test strips to keep someone safe.

The group’s hotline, dialed through the number “MYSTERY,” connects callers to volunteers ready to fulfill requests both whimsical and vital. At the pop-up, they trade stories, trinkets, and small essentials across picnic blankets — the kind of spontaneous exchange that keeps San Francisco feeling alive. — KQED

Rainbows online

Reading Rainbow is back, this time on YouTube, with Mychal Threets at the helm. The former Fairfield librarian, who went viral on TikTok for his playful, heartfelt book videos, brings a fresh energy to the beloved series.

The reboot promises storytelling, celebrity guests, and the same push to make reading irresistible for kids, and adults alike. — KTVU

Top image: Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo), Maria, 2014. Photograph by Kate Russell. Image courtesy of the artist

In this week’s Field Notes: a live pipe organ at Legion of Honor, stone legacy in Mill Valley, Recology’s Artist in Residence exhibit, and an Aquatic Park doc. Also: Amy Tan with Christian Cooper, teen film 'The Jar', and Sacramento’s music archive.

Rodin, chandeliers, and a hundred-year-old organ

Every Saturday at 4 p.m., the Legion of Honor fills its Rodin Gallery with the sound of a 100-year-old pipe organ.

Jonathan Dimmick playing the Spreckels Organ at the Legion of Honor, 2002. Photograph by Gary Sexton

Built into the museum itself, its 4,500+ pipes are tucked behind chandeliers and sculptures, designed to resonate through the marble rotunda. The concerts are free with admission, turning a quiet weekend visit into something grander. — Secret San Francisco

Sculpting history in Mill Valley

Mill Valley’s O’Hanlon Center for the Arts pays tribute to its founder, the late sculptor Richard O’Hanlon, with Dialogue with Stone, a display of his monumental stone sculptures, sketches, and archival photos.

Fabrice Florin/Flickr

Alongside it, the Dreams and Visions exhibit explores O’Hanlon’s life, techniques, and inspirations — including geology and astronomy, providing context to his body of work as well as his hillside studio and its surrounding landscape, which O’Hanlon and his wife Ann converted from an old dairy farm in 1942.

The grounds feature outdoor works, some now home to lichens, inviting visitors to wander through both art and history. Runs through August 31, with guided tours available. — Bay Area News Group

From trash to treasure: 35 years of Recology AIR

San Francisco’s Recology Artist-in-Residence program turns the city’s garbage into gallery-ready art. For 35 years, artists have transformed discarded materials — from meat grinders to hair clippings — into striking, unexpected works.

The anniversary show at 1275 Minnesota Street highlights 35 years of creativity, with over 250 artists’ pieces on display. Free to visit through August 30, it’s a uniquely SF experience that makes you look twice at what we throw away. — Recology Artists in Residence

Ship-shaped SF landmark gets its due

The iconic Maritime Museum, formerly known as the Aquatic Park Bathhouse — a 1939 WPA-built bayfront building — has a new spotlight in KQED’s documentary A Balcony on the World.

Premiering August 22, the film traces the bathhouse from public gathering space to WWII Army post to museum, highlighting its murals, glazed-tile sculpture, and restoration projects. Catch it on KQED August 22 at 8 p.m., with re-airings August 23 at 2 a.m. and August 30 at 6 p.m. — SF Examiner

10 peaks, one unforgettable walk

Peak2Peak returns Saturday, September 13, for its 21st year, sending participants on a 10-mile urban adventure through San Francisco’s hidden stairways, quiet streets, and secret viewpoints. Guided groups enjoy coffee, lunch, and snacks along the way, plus a commemorative keepsake at the finish.

Even locals will spot corners of the city they didn’t know existed — just be ready for plenty of hills, stairs, and some serious sightseeing. Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance. — WalkSF

Amy Tan and Christian Cooper to host delightful nature journaling conference in Palo Alto

Amy Tan, Bay Area born and raised, took NatGeo host Christian Cooper on a birding tour of the region — from Bolinas cliffs to Point Reyes marshes, and of course her own backyard. Along the way, they commiserated over dog owners who ignore leash laws and trample birds’ nesting grounds. Cooper — host of Extraordinary Birder and author of Better Living Through Birding and Urban Owls — knows his birds and the rules they deserve.

On September 14, the pair will share the mic at the 7th Annual Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference at the Foster Museum in Palo Alto, live and online. — Amy Tan

Teens turn summer into a city-wide film set

Seventy-one Bay Area teens spent four weeks making THE JAR, a feature-length chase through Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, and the city’s steep streets. Guided by Joe Talbot (The Last Black Man in San Francisco), they rotated through writing, directing, and cinematography, learning pro-level gear and techniques.

The premiere at the Great Star Theater earlier this month drew a line up Jackson Street, and the Q&A revealed the city’s usual hazards: traffic, curious bystanders, and one very unhelpful passerby. Beyond the polished shots, campers walked away with friendships and creative collaborators that might last a lifetime. — Mission Local

A shed full of music history

In a suburban shed outside Sacramento, Shayne Stacy sits among towers of VHS, cassettes, and reel-to-reels — nearly 20,000 recordings of Bay Area punk, thrash, indie, and metal shows. He started filming local gigs in the ’80s, trading tapes through the mail, and now digitizes rare early footage of Nirvana, Green Day, as well as long-lost basement bands.

Musicians, fans, and former roadies drop off forgotten boxes, and he cleans them up, uploads them online for free, and quietly preserves decades of Northern California music history, one tape at a time. — KQED Arts

North Beach movie mash-up

Every third Wednesday of the month, Films with Friends takes over three venues at the same time in North Beach for a unique and festive night of co-occurring film screenings. This month, live male strippers will be on hand to accompany Savoy Tivoli’s screening of Magic Mike. Alternatively, take a deep dive into Mazatec psychedelic plants at Live Worm’s screening of Salvia Divinorum.

Families should definitely head to Piazza Pellegrini for the 1971 classic, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. — Renegade Cinema

Walnut Creek cafe in the national spotlight

Recently recognized as one of the top new women-owned cafes in the country, Prologue Coffee & Tea quietly thrives inside Walnut Creek’s public library. Vietnamese coffee gets a twist with banana milk, and banh mi sandwiches are crafted from house-made spreads and family recipes.

Owner Thuy Nguyen left banking to open the shop just over a year ago, and locals — plus visitors from across the Bay — are quickly discovering this unexpected gem. — KGO

Top image: Tariq Stone, A Little Bit of This, 2024. Photo by Tariq Stone; Model: Isabel Li; Production Design: Emily Hernandez; Makeup: Niku Radan; Production Assistant: Theo Garvey

Previously: Field Notes: Prelinger Library’s Treasures, SF to Guerneville by Clipper, Historic Lanterns Relit

In this week’s Field Notes: A family rides SF to Guerneville, Prelinger Library invites curiosity, Berkeley’s lanterns relit, origami honors Ruth Asawa, a solo show unpacks identity, kids pitch inventions, Monopoly refreshed, Tilden grows rare plants, salons spread health info, and dance dives deep.

A Berkeley neighborhood’s lanterns return after 60+ years

Two early-1900s lanterns that once lit the corner of Hopkins and The Alameda in Berkeley’s Northbrae neighborhood are getting re-lit this weekend. Thanks to a community fundraiser, they’ve been rebuilt by metalsmith Jerry Coe and his apprentice, Sofia Barron-Kardos.

On Saturday, the neighborhood will flip the switch during an official ceremony  — complete with a walking tour, lantern-making, history talks, and a bronze-welding demo. — Berkeleyside

Ruth Asawa’s legacy, one square at a time

San Francisco artist Lilli Lanier is currently showcasing a series of origami portraits at Café Alma in Bayview–Hunters Point, including a striking piece of her grandmother, the late Ruth Asawa. Lanier’s portrait of Asawa is made from over 10,000 folded paper squares in 20 shades — a skill she first learned from her grandmother as a child.

The exhibit runs through September 1 and also features portraits of figures like Stephen Curry, Frida Kahlo, and Martin Luther King Jr. Among the largest is Origami la Virgen de Guadalupe, made from 20,000 folds. — Mission Local

A public library like no other

Tucked into an unmarked SoMa building, Prelinger Library is a privately funded public space open three days a week serving as part archive, part art project, and part sanctuary. Its image-rich collection of 19th- and 20th-century maps, periodicals, pamphlets, and books is arranged in a geospatial system that starts with the land beneath your feet and ends in theory and space, as described on the library’s website. Visitors are welcome on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays — with experimental music often playing on Sundays.

Founders Rick and Megan Prelinger founded the library in 2004. Rick, an archivist and “old school punk,” has spent his life preserving forgotten media. Megan, a writer and former member of the zine collective Bad Subjects, helped shape the library’s unique organizational style of arranging materials by thematic and conceptual connections rather than traditional categories. Their 7,000-title zine archive captures a wide range of creative, personal, and independent voices. — empowa, KALW

SF to Guerneville via Clipper Card

This resourceful family made the trip from San Francisco’s 24th Street Mission Station to Guerneville in Sonoma County using only their Clipper Cards. The leisurely journey took about six hours, with stops for lunch at the San Francisco Ferry Building and ice cream in Santa Rosa. It involved four transit agencies and cost around $36.80 round trip per adult.

They recommend catching the ferry by noon to allow plenty of time. The bus from Santa Rosa isn’t on a timed transfer, so expect some waiting, and check each agency’s website for the most accurate info. — bikecuriouslive

The wonders of Tilden

The East Bay's Tilden Regional Park’s crevice garden is a unique space designed to mimic high-altitude conditions, allowing rare alpine plants like the elusive Sky Pilot, which was procured from atop Mount Whitney, to grow at low elevation. Using thick slabs of slate to protect roots and provide drainage, the garden supports species that struggle to survive elsewhere in the Bay Area.

With 3,600 native plants including over 700 rare or endangered — Tilden is a living archive dedicated to preserving California’s botanical diversity against climate change and time. — Bay Area News Group

Using salons to bridge health gaps

Stanford student Diba Dindoust is enlisting hair salons to connect low-income women with free healthcare services they might not know exist. Through her Makala Women’s Collective, she posts resource guides in local shops and trains stylists to share the information with clients.

Stylists are learning how to start conversations about everything from free cancer screenings to mental health resources, making the salon chair a surprising gateway to care. — NBC Bay Area

Young entrepreneurs master financial literacy

San Francisco’s Boys and Girls Club teamed up with the University of San Francisco for a summer financial literacy camp that wrapped up with a “Fish Tank” pitch event. In preparation for the kid-friendly take on Shark Tank, campers brainstormed inventions — from expandable shoes to dissolving gum, which won top prize.

The program blended budgeting, banking, and entrepreneurship with creative teamwork, offering opportunities often out of reach for low-income kids. — Chronicle

Hope amid conflict

In Israel, Hend Ayoub was the Arab outsider. In the US, she’s often cast as the terrorist. In Home?, the Palestinian actor unpacks these contradictions with sharp wit, tracing her journey from a divided homeland to the New York stage — all while facing the question, “Where are you really from?”

The solo show moves through checkpoints, culture clashes, and casting calls, as her mother wonders if she’s found a home yet. This performance might be the closest answer. Runs through August 16. — KQED

Asking the big question through dance

Joe Goode Performance Group’s latest site-specific work, Are You Okay?, transforms San Francisco’s Rincon Center into an immersive meditation on loneliness, anxiety, and the search for connection.

Drawing on conversations with Mission District residents — where the group’s dance studio is located, as well as mental health workers and longtime collaborators, choreographer Joe Goode blends dance, theater, and song into a roaming experience of intimate moments and sweeping views.

Co-created with vertical dance artist Melecio Estrella and scored by composer Ben Juodvalkis, the piece invites the audience to face their vulnerabilities together, embracing it as part of the human experience. Runs from August 14–31. — Mission Local

World’s largest Monopoly board gets spruced up

Volunteers gave San Jose’s world-record-holding Monopoly board a much-needed refresh last weekend. Covering 930 square feet in Discovery Meadow, this massive granite game is the largest Monopoly board sculpture on the planet, with corner slabs weighing nearly 250 pounds each.

Since its 2002 debut, it’s become a local favorite photo spot and gathering place, complete with oversized dice and life-sized tokens that visitors can rent for actual play. The board’s spaces are also personalized with San Jose landmarks. — KGO

Top image: Google Reviews

Previously: Field Notes: 'Dolores' Opera, Rooftop Roller Rink, Rebel Lit, Tree Guide, and Coastal Wineries

The Valkyries and KALW hosted a touching reunion for the legendary Pioneers, a short-lived but groundbreaking Bay Area women’s basketball team that drew huge crowds from 1979 to 1981 — thanks in large part to the dedication of Oakland-raised sportswriter Maya Goldberg‑Safir.

Local public radio station KALW has had some exciting developments in recent years. It was one of nine recipients of San Francisco’s Vacant to Vibrant grant program, securing a pop-up live event space in a prime Financial District spot at 220 Montgomery. The location now hosts an art gallery and regular donation-based community events tied to KALW’s programming. Soon, the station will move its main studios to the historic Warfield Building.

On Tuesday night, SFist dropped by the pop-up for a live event celebrating KALW’s Bounce sports podcast, currently dedicated to covering the Golden State Valkyries’ first season. Four members of the Pioneers — Anita Ortega, Jan Ternyik, Anna Johnson, and Gerry Booker — joined host Erin Lim and reporter Maya Goldberg‑Safir to reflect on their bittersweet time in the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL), which folded after three seasons due to financial instability, mismanagement, and lack of media and corporate support.

As the Chronicle reports, the Pioneers were honored Monday night during the Valkyries’ “History of Bay Area Women’s Basketball” theme night at Chase Center. The Pioneer players said the moment brought back memories of their team’s heyday, when the Pioneers had the largest and most loyal fan base in the league. Some of the kids who once idolized them from the stands are now Valkyries players and season ticket holders themselves.

The women recalled how growing up, “rover ball” — a limited version of basketball considered “more appropriate” for girls — was often the only option available at school, as explained by Columbia Daily Tribune. They played alongside boys in driveways and gyms to hone their skills.

When they went pro, the obstacles didn’t end. The players faced constant sexism and a lack of resources. Male players often joined practices to make up for a supposed lack of skilled women. Some players received groceries instead of paychecks, and many worked second jobs while training and playing at the highest level.

Each player brought her own grit to the team: Ortega led the offense, Ternyik anchored the defense, Johnson brought hustle, and Booker had a knack for grabbing rebounds.

Goldberg‑Safir is credited with orchestrating the reunion and advocating for the Pioneers’ recognition from the Valkyries and WNBA.

The Pioneers say the Bay Area has always been built for champions — and they’re thrilled to see the Valkyries following in their footsteps. Johnson, a season ticket holder, joked the Valkyries “just need to work on their layups.”

Image: (from left to right) Maya Goldberg‑Safir, Erin Lim, Anita Ortega, Jan Ternyik, Anna Johnson, and Gerry Booker; KALW/Facebook

A very racist episode in the history of the City of Piedmont, in the East Bay, is likely going to be commemorated with a memorial sculpture park, as the town's leaders announce this Juneteenth.

You may not know if you haven't lived in Oakland or in and around the wealthy enclave of Piedmont that the town of 11,000, which is surrounded on all sides by Oakland, was established as a redlined, whites-only city. Incorporated in 1907 and developed largely in the 1920s and 30s, Piedmont has always been a place of wealth, earning the nickname "City of Millionaires" as far back as the 20s.

Infamously, a Black couple, Sidney and Irene Dearing, purchased a home in Piedmont in 1924 using Irene's white mother as a proxy. The home at 67 Wildwood Avenue quickly became the target of racial hatred and a campaign by the city to get the family out, with local newspapers eager to cover the controversy.

Sidney Dearing was the owner of a successful Oakland restaurant, the Creole Cafe, which was shut down during Prohibition. And he and his family became the subject of "condemnation proceedings" by the Piedmont City Council. One headline that you can see at this historical website about the Dearings proclaimed "Rich Negro to Be Ousted From Home" when the council offered the Dearings $80,000 to buy them out of the house.

The Dearings initially refused, and a reported mob of 500 white people then arrived at their doorstep on May 6, 1924. Fearing for their safety and that of their two small children, the Dearings ultimately did sell the house and move.

As KPIX reports, 101 years after these events, the City of Piedmont has just announced a new timeline and a target date for a project to commemmorate this ugly history, saying they are at the "50-percent concept stage." The plan is for a memorial sculpture park centered in a triangular grove of redwood trees on the 67 Wildwood property — which is now owned by Gary Theut, who has lived there for 20 years. The memorial should be complete in about 12 months, the city says.

Piedmont's City Administrator Rosanna Bayon-Moore tells KPIX, "We are committed to being a different community today, and being a different community means facing difficult topics. It means confronting difficult chapters in our history. It means having a difficult conversation to be able to move forward."

"I think, although the history is ugly... it is really important that we honor those people who went through it," said the property owner, Theut, speaking to KPIX. "And I'm glad we know about it now, and that the community is aware."

Designing the project will be award-winning landscape architect Walter Hood, who says the project is personal to him because, "I'm a Black man, it is just that simple. I think if we don't tell our stories, someone else will."

Part of the project, Hood proposes, will include a flagpole with a mailbox hoisted on it with the Dearing name on its side, commemorating this place they never really got to call home.

This week’s mix of culture, nature, and flavor includes queer hikes, show-tune karaoke, booza ice cream, an Oakland-based wine company, Lake Temescal swims, Foster City Eichler homes, SF skate history, and bold films at BAMPFA.

Pride in nature

Several LGBTQ+ groups around the Bay Area are hosting outdoor events during Pride Month to create inclusive, welcoming spaces in nature. Activities include birdwatching with Queer Birders Bay Area and Queers of a Feather, which provide gear and beginner-friendly guidance. Queer Surf hosts beach events and lessons that celebrate gender diversity in surfing culture.

Branching Out Adventures and the Rainbow Sierrans lead hikes and camping trips with a focus on accessibility and community-building. The San Francisco Hiking Club, active since the 1980s, continues to connect queer people through weekly scenic treks.—KQED

Show tunes and karaoke

A Broadway-themed singalong bar is opening in SF’s Marina District on June 26, offering a full immersive musical theater experience, including show-tune karaoke, red carpet photo ops, and themed cocktails like the “Ozmopolitan.” From Hamilton to Phantom, it’s your chance to belt it out with fellow fans. Early reservations are now open via SFBucketList.—SFBucketList

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Summer swims and scenic trails at Lake Temescal

Lake Temescal, a serene reservoir in the Oakland Hills, is open daily for the 2025 summer swim season. Just under an hour from SF via BART and bus, it features a sandy beach with lifeguards, a peaceful trail, fishing, picnicking, and WPA-era architecture.

Temescal Creek was dammed in 1868 to provide drinking water to the East Bay, and the lake’s stone beach house dates to the 1930s. Two playgrounds and shady groves round out this East Bay gem.—Secret San Francisco

San Francisco’s skateboarding culture and legacy

SFGovTV’s new short documentary explores how San Francisco helped shape global skateboarding culture. More than just a pastime, skating is part of the city’s identity—etched into its hills, plazas, and neighborhoods. The film highlights its gritty history, iconic street spots, and influential skaters.—SFGovTV

Booza in the Bay

Booza, a stretchy traditional Arab ice cream, is making its mark on the Bay. The rare treat is available at Berkeley’s Roast & Toast, where Palestinian owner Fadi Alhour serves classic and cardamom-rose flavors topped with pistachio and crispy kataifi.

Booza is also sold at Levant Dessert in Menlo Park and SF’s Dalida, and a few local markets carry packaged versions made in Texas. Its elastic texture comes from orchid root and tree resin, making it dense and slow-melting—perfect for summer.—Chronicle

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Changing the face of wine—from Oakland

Jonathan Yang and Tiffani Patton are reimagining wine from their base in Oakland. As the duo behind Laughing Gems, they craft natural wines that reflect their Chinese American and Black and Korean American heritage—designed to pair with the bold flavors they grew up with.

Their fizzy Muscat Pet-Nat and orange Muscat “Florascent” cut through rich foods, and their labels feature playful designs by local artists. They got their start at Purity Wine in Richmond, and now they're building a culture that feels like home.—EaterSF

Eichlers, bayfront living, and fair housing

Foster City is home to 200 Mid-Century Modern Eichler homes built between 1964–1966 across three neighborhoods. Known for their open layouts, glass walls, and indoor-outdoor flow, the homes reflect a bold vision of equitable housing championed by developer Joseph Eichler, who sold to buyers of all races when discrimination was still legal.

While some have been remodeled, others are being lovingly restored. Their legacy is matched by Foster City's original vision of blending modern living with open space and nature.—The Eichler Network

Global stories and bold directors at BAMPFA

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive’s Summer and Fall 2025 film lineup explores memory, identity, and endurance across international cinema. Programs include Robert Altman at 100 and In Lonely Places, expanding noir into uncanny suburbs and isolation.

Retrospectives of Tsai Ming-liang, Mikio Naruse, and Tarkovsky highlight solitude and human connection, while works by Vivien Hillgrove and Bruce Conner showcase transformation through editing. From The 400 Blows to A Photographic Memory, it’s a season of storytelling that spans continents and generations.—Broke-Ass Stuart

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Top image: Still from 'A Photographic Memory,' screening at BAMPFA on June 28 and July 20

Previously: Field Notes: New Peninsula Trail Network, Nesting Falcons, and Black History in California

Now on Saturdays! Racheal Kundananji uplifts Zambian youth through sport; historian and retired librarian Dorothy Lazard inspires the community to preserve Oakland's past; and Sven Jobe and Mallie Testerman transform Pier 70 into an artists' hub.

Zambian footballer Racheal Kundananji may have made headlines as the world’s most highly paid women’s player when she signed with National Women's Soccer League’s Bay Football Club in early 2024, but it’s her off-the-pitch legacy that she’s most focused on building. After rising from playing soccer in secret as a girl in Lusaka to Olympic stardom and European success, Kundananji launched the Racheal Kundananji Legacy Foundation to address critical issues facing youth in Zambia—addiction, HIV/AIDS, and teen pregnancy.

Through school supplies, mentorship, and visits to places like Lusaka’s Sanity House rehab center, she’s connecting directly with young people, offering not just inspiration but tangible support. As a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, Kundananji now uses her platform to champion education, prevention, and empowerment, particularly for girls. With every goal she scores in the NWSL, she’s giving kids back home another reason to believe in something bigger.

Catch Kundananji and the Bay FC team at Oracle Park on August 23 competing against Washington Spirit.

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Dorothy Lazard doesn’t just remember Oakland — she helped archive it. As head of the Oakland History Center for over a decade, the retired librarian made local history accessible, personal, and urgent. Her lived experience—growing up during white flight, the rise of Black Power, and redevelopment—made her a uniquely trusted guide.

Lazard’s memoir, What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World, recounts her early years after moving from St. Louis to San Francisco, and then Oakland. It’s a story about libraries as refuge, and knowledge as power. “History keepers hold the future in their hands.”

Her work helped countless people understand how Oakland came to be — and how the community might move forward. Along the way, she became something rare: a librarian with a fan club. She made local history legible and deeply human, especially for those who didn’t think of themselves as historians.

In retirement, Lazard is still writing, still remembering. The History Center is now in good hands, she says, but her legacy — of rigor, humor, and deep care — remains shelved in the stories she helped others discover.

Ceramicists Sven Jobe and Mallie Testerman are bringing new life—and ancient craft—to San Francisco’s Pier 70, transforming a former WWII shipbuilding site into a hub of contemporary artistry. Their studio, Sven Ceramics, makes elegant, gold-accented tableware for Michelin-starred restaurants, but it’s more than just beautiful design: it’s family history in full circle. Jobe’s grandmother welded ships here; Testerman’s grandfather engineered them. Now the couple fires plates, mugs, and bowls just yards from where their ancestors once built battleships.

After a decade working from a backyard studio, they’ve moved into the revitalized Building 12 with a showroom, teaching space, and a 2,300-pound kiln that barely fit in the elevator. The couple—who pivoted from careers in construction and education—designs ceramics that honor the Bay Area’s natural and built landscapes. “We’re still making stuff,” Jobe says, “just in a totally different way.” Their story is one of lineage, craftsmanship, and the slow, hot work of building something lasting.

Image: SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 22: Racheal Kundananji #8 of Bay FC controls the ball during a game between Racing Louisville FC and Bay FC at PayPal Park on March 22, 2025, in San Jose, California. (Photo by Elysia Su/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Previously: Notable Humans: Berkeley Teen Takes On World’s Toughest Swims To Raise Money For Pediatric Cancer

This week’s notable humans include Thomas Bennett, who made Miyako Ice Cream a Fillmore gem; Jilchristina Vest, curator of the iconic mural honoring the women of the Black Panther Party; and Denise Ebright, a dedicated teacher and coach recognized on Good Morning America.

Since 1993, Thomas Bennett and his daughter Teresa have run Miyako Old Fashion Ice Cream on Fillmore Street, serving heaping scoops of Mitchell’s ice cream and hot deli lunches for a modest $4. A former model and restaurateur from Philadelphia, Bennett opened the shop to serve Fillmore’s diverse community, believing that success comes not just from what you sell, but how you treat people.

A recent Yelp review of Miyako echoes this sentiment:

The man behind the counter makes this place what it is. It feels so special and he gives the feel of a grandpa who simply cares about each customer. When you order a sandwich, the owner puts every bit of thought and care into each one, picking out each vegetable that goes into your sandwich and carefully making sure it's to your liking.

Over the years, Miyako has survived changing demographics, gentrification, a 2020 break-in, and pandemic hardships. When a freezer broke and thousands of dollars in merchandise were stolen, the community raised nearly $20,000 through a GoFundMe organized by the New Community Leadership Foundation to keep the shop open.

Miyako’s history highlights the struggles faced by Black-owned businesses in San Francisco, where displacement and underfunding are ongoing issues. For Bennett, keeping a neighborhood business alive is about steady support: “Buy a soda. Tell a friend. And come back,” he says.

Jilchristina Vest, an Oakland-based activist, is organizing the first public art installation honoring the women of the Black Panther Party and the #SayHerName movement. Inspired by the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprisings, she envisioned a mural to celebrate these unsung heroes. Located on the side of her home, the mural features over 250 names of Black women who led, organized, and fought for justice, along with a tribute to the #SayHerName movement addressing violence against Black women and girls.

Vest was born in Chicago in 1966, the same year the Black Panther Party was founded. She found her political and social home in Oakland, where she learned about the Party's history, particularly its deep ties to the West Oakland community:

The Black Panther Party brought me to Oakland. I definitely feel that in my soul. I was born in Chicago in 1966. I was born the same year of the Black Panther Party. Once I came into my twenties, I wore that as a badge of honor. I always said I was a kinder Black Panther because I was born the same year the Party was born. I was born in Chicago, which was a major historical place for the Party as well.

Inspired by this history, she envisioned purchasing a house in the same area, and with the support of her community, made it a reality in 2000. Vest’s journey to homeownership was challenging, but the solidarity of her community helped her achieve her goal. Her story continues to inspire her activism, as she fights to ensure the contributions of Black women to liberation movements are recognized and celebrated.

Additionally, Vest hosts a “Love the People” community block party twice a year, in which Vest and her team provide free food, clothes, and resources to the people — all in honor of the legacy of the Black Panther Party. The next event will be in June 2025.

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Denise Ebright has spent decades shaping young athletes and scholars at St. Theresa School in Oakland, where she teaches math and coaches cross country, volleyball, and basketball. A former Division I softball player at Cal and MBA grad from Saint Mary’s, Ebright brings a competitive spirit and deep Bay Area roots to everything she does.

Earlier this month, Good Morning America named Ebright a “Sideline Superhero” for her leadership and impact on the school community. Students, parents, and coworkers nominated her for the national award, celebrating the way she turns teamwork, resilience, and personal milestones into life lessons.

Ebright believes success is about growth, not wins. Over the years, she’s stayed focused on building confidence and community, showing up every day with encouragement and high expectations.

At a school watch party with her eighth-grade volleyball team, her son Cody, and local parents, Ebright beamed with pride as her name was announced. For her, the work has never been about recognition—it’s about creating a place where students can learn, play, and believe in themselves.

Previously: Notable Humans: Walnut Creek Teen’s ‘Key Future News’ Aims To Empower Gen Z

This week's notable humans include San Rafael resident, retired SFFD lieutenant, and dedicated volunteer John Chung; San Francisco author and historian Beth Winegarner whose work aims to remember the forgotten; and Walnut Creek's Anya Gupta, 16-year-old founder of Key Future News.

At just 16, Walnut Creek’s Anya Gupta is a dual-enrolled high school and Diablo Valley College student and founder of Key Future News (KFN), a youth-focused news nonprofit with nearly 200 videos on YouTube. According to The East Bay Times, Gupta launched KFN to simplify news for Gen Z, covering topics like tech, politics, and future careers.

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Gupta writes, films, edits, and promotes her content independently while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She also serves on the Contra Costa Behavioral Health Board and plans to grow her team and audience on social media. Gupta hopes to attend Berkeley’s Haas School of Business after she graduates from Diablo Valley College next year with the ultimate goal of building an informed and empowered community of young people.

I decided to name the channel Key Future News in the aspect that KFN news is the ‘key to your future,’ That’s what we’re going for now — predictions of future industries, what your future will be like, interviewing professionals on their predictions, things to do and know right now to change the future.

San Francisco author and historian Beth Winegarner's work aims to remember the people of San Francisco who’s history has been long forgotten. Her most recent project documents the lives of the forgotten girls who were incarcerated in the city’s Magdalen Asylum, once located where SF General Hospital now stands.

KQED writes that the institution first opened in 1856 by the Sisters of Mercy as a refuge for sex workers and later evolved into a place where “wayward” girls — often petty offenders, unsupervised teens, or anyone deemed “morally suspect” — were confined. Winegarner’s research was sparked by sensationalized newspaper clippings that she found while researching her 2023 book San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries and grew into a larger effort to transcribe registers, collect census records, and name those the system sought to shame or erase.

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The girls’ stories are often heartbreaking or surprising: one ten-year-old stole a purse to buy dolls and candy; another traveled alone, stayed in fine hotels, and rode horses in Napa. Some were institutionalized for racist or arbitrary reasons, like being present in a home where a Black man was present or being labeled “incorrigible” — a term Winegarner believes often masked neurodivergence.

Babies born there were routinely sent to a nearby Catholic orphanage with high infant mortality. Most girls did embroidery rather than laundry, and few left without adult help or marriage. Winegarner aims to restore their identities and ensure they’re not forgotten.

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San Rafael resident John Chung has been honored with the 2025 Richard O’Brien and Mary Ferrario O’Brien Public Service Award for his extensive volunteer work in youth sports, music, and public service.

According to Marin Independent Journal, Chung, who is a retired San Francisco Fire Department lieutenant, has supported San Rafael’s school music programs for over a decade, helping with concerts, providing technical expertise, and organizing transportation and equipment for student performances. He also managed the sound system for the school district’s annual HeadsUp Carnival for 10 years and launched fundraisers to help sustain arts and athletics programs.

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Chung’s background in music includes his longtime role as manager of the professional jazz fusion band Hiroshima, which helped him develop skills in production, sound, and logistics — knowledge he generously shares with local schools.

Chung also stepped in to coach the San Rafael High School boys’ golf team in 2023 to prevent it from disbanding, despite his children never having played on the team. Under his leadership, the program has grown, and he continues to lead innovative fundraising events such as home concerts and speaker series.

In addition to his youth-focused efforts, Chung serves on the San Rafael Fire Commission and volunteers during major incidents. City officials praised his unwavering dedication and the positive impact he’s made throughout San Rafael.

Image via YouTube

Previously: Notable Humans: Susan Kare, Designer Of Mac’s Earliest Icons — And Its Friendly Aesthetic

Elaine Brown, former chair of the Black Panther Party and founder of dozens of revolutionary programs, might be getting a West Oakland intersection named after her.

According to Oaklandside, the Oakland City Council is considering a resolution next month to rename the intersection at 7th and Campbell streets “Elaine Brown Way” after former Black Panther Party chair, Elaine Brown. Brown is responsible for creating and supporting dozens of innovative community programs throughout her career, many of which became models for state and city government programs. One of her most recent projects include a mammoth 32,000 square-foot affordable housing and commercial hub in West Oakland, aptly called the Black Panther.

Brown, a singer-songwriter who grew up in inner city Philadelphia, joined the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1968 after gaining a rigorous education on the Civil Rights Movement, capitalism, and communism from music executive Jay Richard Kennedy.

While in Los Angeles, Brown was instrumental in organizing the party’s first revolutionary Free Breakfast for Children Program as well as the Panthers’ free legal aid and Busing to Prisons services. Brown was also commissioned to record two albums for the Panthers and was the editor of the Southern California Black Panther publication during that time.  

Brown moved to Oakland when party founder Huey Newton directed her to run for city council in 1973 and 1975, but she lost both elections. From 1974 through 1977, Brown served as chair of the party, dealing with routine sexism by male Panthers, while Newton was hiding out in Cuba avoiding criminal charges.

In 1977, Brown succeeded at helping Lionel Wilson become Oakland’s first Black mayor. She also founded the Panther Liberation School program, which taught children about class struggle from the perspective of Black history, with sites in Berkeley and San Francisco and later an official elementary school in Oakland. Soon after Newton’s return, Brown left the party — and Oakland, fearing for her safety when a male party member broke a female Panthers’ jaw, and Newton sided with the man.

Over the next few decades, Brown lived in Los Angeles — where she wrote her memoir, A Taste of Power — and France, before settling in Georgia in 1996, where she dedicated her time to prison reform. There, she founded several groups, including Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice, which supports Georgia children who are being prosecuted as adults, and the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform, which helps prisoners with housing and other services and raises money for prisoner phone calls and gifts.

Brown also founded the Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee and spent decades working to free Lewis (“Little B”) who was released on parole in 2023 at the age of 40 after serving 27 years for a murder he didn’t commit.

In 2014, Brown founded Oakland & the World Enterprises, Inc., which helps formerly incarcerated and other socio-economically marginalized people launch and sustain for-profit businesses. Last year, OAW completed construction on the Black Panther, a 32,000 square-foot, three-quarter acre affordable housing and commercial hub, which received a federal grant of over $1 million last year.

All  79 units of the Black Panther are occupied, many by single mothers with children who were previously unhoused. OAW is currently coordinating the set-up of several ground floor businesses that will employ formerly incarcerated people, including a  gym, tech center, neighborhood market, and restaurant.

Image: Elaine Brown (right) with Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton and his wife Gwen (left) at San Francisco International Airport, 1977. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

The Tenderloin Museum is celebrating its ten-year anniversary with some big moves — tripling its size, adding a vibrant neon gallery, and relaunching its immersive play, Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in April — all to celebrate the neighborhood’s legacy as a hub for nightlife, immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, and a variety of social movements.

The expansion will take over an adjacent space in the museum's existing residence in the Cadillac Hotel building at Eddy and Leavenworth, once home to Newman’s Gym, where boxing legends like Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, and Sugar Ray Robinson trained. The new space will house an expanded permanent collection featuring exhibits on the California Labor School, Newman’s Gym, and the Tenderloin Times newspaper, while also creating room for youth and educational programs.

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A key focus of the new space will be preserving the oral histories of the Tenderloin’s diverse residents, beginning with an upcoming exhibit celebrating the influence of Indian-American hotel owners in the Tenderloin over the past 50 years.

Another major highlight is the return of Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, an immersive play that brings to life the 1966 trans uprising at 101 Taylor Street, which recently received two historic landmark designations.

With anti-trans legislation on the rise nationwide, museum director Katie Conry sees the play as more vital than ever. “The Tenderloin has always been a place of resistance,” she says.

For architect June Lee, a trans woman leading the renovation, the project is deeply personal. She first worked on the building 30 years ago as a teenage intern during a seismic retrofit—now, she’s shaping its future.

While the neon gallery is expected to be a major draw, the museum’s deeper mission remains clear: honoring the stories of a neighborhood that has long been a refuge for those who refused to be erased.

Image: Google Maps

Previously: Tenderloin Museum Opens In Former Sizzler Steakhouse Space

Update: A few clarifying details about the exhibits were added to this post after publishing