• Natalie Gee, runner-up for District 4 supervisor in the June election, announced she’s withdrawing from the November race. This likely makes Alan Wong, who’s received almost $1 million from PACs — much of it geared toward mailers and ads —a shoo-in for the seat. [Mission Local]
• A 33-year-old swimmer named Catherine Breed is embarking on an expedition to swim the full border of California, from Oregon to Mexico — a 900-mile feat that would make her the first to complete. [New York Times]
• Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy suddenly resigned Tuesday after investigators began looking into whether she actually lived in Fairfield. [Chronicle]
• Wynd Kaufmyn, 68, an activist from the group Stop AI, was convicted in connection to a protest last year outside OpenAI’s headquarters on Third Street. [KQED]

National:

• As SpaceX heads toward a potential public offering Friday with a projected valuation of an unprecedented $1.8 trillion, a new report from More Perfect Union alleges the company was fast-tracked into Nasdaq index funds in a way that could gouge retirement investors while heavily enriching early backers and insiders. [Democracy Now]

• A federal watchdog report found that a large ICE detention facility in Texas is being operated under serious mismanagement, wasting millions in taxpayer money while exposing detainees to unsafe conditions, inadequate medical care, and preventable deaths. [Associated Press]
• A judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by 31 former male athletes from North Carolina State University who alleged they were sexually abused by their team’s former director of sports medicine. [Associated Press]

Video:

• Crews began tearing down the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier Tuesday as the structure of the pier continues to deteriorate, and the building was at risk of collapsing. [ABC 7]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

An Oakland man died at Santa Rita Jail Saturday after being released from the hospital an hour earlier, marking the jail’s third in-custody death this year and the second within a week.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office announced that 44-year-old Oakland resident Jeffrey Bryce McMaster died Saturday afternoon after collapsing in the restroom at Santa Rita Jail’s outpatient facility, as KTVU reports. Staff attempted lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead at about 12:45 p.m.

McMaster had returned to the jail roughly an hour earlier after being discharged from a local hospital, where he had been treated following a seizure in his cell on May 28. He had been in custody since February 3 on a murder charge connected to the fatal beating of another resident at an Oakland residential hotel, according to the East Bay Times.

His cause of death remains under investigation pending an autopsy and toxicology testing.

As SFist reported last week, 37-year-old Brandon Anthony Josep Watson of San Francisco also died at the jail after being transferred from Monterey County Jail in connection with a California Highway Patrol vehicle theft investigation. Deputies found him unresponsive in a dormitory housing unit after he failed to report for breakfast the following morning.

In March, 37-year-old Oakland resident Kenyonna Farr died in a holding cell one day after being released from a hospital and three days after being transferred to Santa Rita Jail. Additionally, 36-year-old Dequita Grace Harrell died while visiting an inmate in the jail lobby in February.

As previously reported, three sheriff's deputies were indicted last December in connection with the 2021 death of Maurice Monk, who was arrested for not wearing a mask and had been dead at the jail for at least 72 hours before he was found.

McMaster's death is the 78th in-custody death at Santa Rita Jail since 2014.

Previously: Authorities Probe Death of SF Man Found Unresponsive Day After Transfer to Santa Rita Jail

Image: Jesstess87/Wikimedia

The longtime county assessor in Contra Costa County, who just days earlier had symbolically passed the torch to his right-hand man after decades of being reelected himself, saw his home and office raided by the feds on Tuesday morning, and so did his successor.

Gus Kramer, who has served as assessor for 32 years in Contra Costa County, and Assistant County Assessor Vince Robb, both had their homes raided by the FBI Tuesday morning, as Bay Area News Group reports, and the County Assessor's Office on Arnold Drive was raided as well.

The feds have not commented on the raids, but Bay Area News Group obtained a copy of the warrant associated with them, which was signed June 4 by US Magistrate Judge Robert Illman. The warrant authorizes the search of the office and the two men's homes, as well as Robb and Kramer’s cars, to look for evidence of wire fraud and "other offenses."

It remains unclear what prompted the raids, but the timing is curious. Last Tuesday, one day before the warrant was signed, Robb was elected to succeed Kramer beginning in January 2027, following Kramer's announcement that he was retiring.

Per KTVU, Kramer spoke to the media outside his office Tuesday and said, "Apparently, low people in high places are attempting to weaponize the FBI to intimidate the assessment's office regarding some properties’ values, on some very large properties. It’s really too bad."

As Bay Area News Group notes, Kramer, who has served as assessor since 1994, has been dogged by various accusations of wrongdoing over the decades, including an allegedly forged deed from 2003 that gifted half a property to Kramer that he subequently purchased, saving him $21,000 in property taxes.

Other accusations have suggested the use of his office to exact personal revenge, including the alleged overvaluing of some vacant properties in 2009 that belonged to a developer with whom Kramer was said to be feuding, costing the developer a reported $200,000 in extra taxes. Kramer's daughter-in-law also reportedly accused him of improperly raising her property tax assessment as retaliation for not being allowed to see his grandchildren.

As Bay Area News Group reported at the time, Kramer blamed his inexperienced and overworked staff for he clerical error.

More recently, in January, the county was forced to settle a lawsuit brought by a former appraiser who worked in Kramer's office, who claimed she was retaliated against for arguing for a higher appraised value for a senior-housing complex. That appraiser, Andrea Albrecht, claimed that Kramer had sought to deliberately undervalue the property by at least $3 million, contradicting her appraisal, and implying this may have been a favor to the property owner who was seeking a lower appraisal.

For decades, Kramer has cast himself as the county's "Bad Boy Assessor," and he's been repeatedly reelected on his reputation for advocating for the "little guy" homeowner.

These latest FBI raids come after two years that brought a federal corruption case, which is still ongoing, to the doorstep of Oakland City Hall, leading to the 2024 recall of Mayor Sheng Thao.

As Bay Area News Group reports, the federal probe in Contra Costa County may have begun last year with a raid at the home of Contra Costa political consultant Mary Jo Rossi, which has not resulted in any charges being filed. Rossi is reportedly linked to Concord homebuilding company DeNova Homes, whose executives have been charged by the feds with attempting to bribe an Antioch councilman.

It's inclear if that case has any ties to the raids on Kramer and Robb.

A candidate who was running against Robb, Nick Spinner, gave a comment to the news group about the raids saying, "I ran on restoring public trust in the Assessor’s Office through transparency and accountability, and I hope the public gets clear answers through the proper process." Spinner added, "I’ve always had a respectful working relationship with Vince."

Related: Federal Judge Rejects Motion By Sheng Thao and Co-Defendants to Toss Evidence In Corruption Case

Top image: Photo via Facebook

As SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su prepares to give testimony in Washington DC Wednesday, the DOJ announced it’s performing a compliance review into policies surrounding gender and sexuality at SF public schools along with three other California school districts.

The review will focus on whether SFUSD and other public school districts in the state are complying with Title IX and properly informing parents of their rights to opt children out of sex education lessons that include sexual orientation and gender identity topics, as KQED reports.

The Justice Department says it will also examine district policies related to transgender students’ access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams, as well as whether districts have responded to recent court rulings on parental rights.

"This Department of Justice will not tolerate local school authorities trampling on the rights of parents concerning the education of their children," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement. "The Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Mahmoud and Mirabelli have put all school districts on notice: policies that keep parents in the dark about sexuality and gender ideology in the classroom must end now."

The inquiry comes just days before Su is scheduled to testify before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce at a hearing titled “Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America’s Schools,” as SFist reported Monday.

KQED reports that according to a letter from committee chair Tim Walberg, lawmakers are reviewing SFUSD’s compliance with civil rights and student privacy laws and considering whether additional federal legislation is needed.

Walberg noted the committee recently proposed bills that would restrict instruction related to gender identity and require parental consent before schools change a student’s pronouns.

The Justice Department says the compliance review is ongoing and that no findings have been made.

Previously: Congress to Grill SFUSD’s Maria Su, Two Others on Parental Rights ‘Abuses’ In Schools

Image: Department of Justice; bpperry/Getty Images

Top image: @SFBART via Twitter

• The San Francisco Zoo was the victim of a phoned-in threat incident Monday — it's being characterized as a "swatting" incident though it's not clear that any major police response occurred — which led to 400 or so zoo guests being told to shelter-in-place while the grounds were swept by police. The incident apparently follows similar incidents at other zoos around the country. [KRON4]
• A wildfire broke out around 11:30 am in Yolo County, near the border with Solano County, which possibly caused by flames that escaped a prescribed burn, and it has grown to over 360 acres. It's called the Putah Fire, and according to Cal Fire it is 15% contained. [Cal Fire / Chronicle]
• Prop D, the "Overpaid CEO Tax," has been officially declared a failure as of the latest vote tally at 4 pm Monday, with the "No" votes now at 53.6%. Mayor Daniel Lurie put out a statement celebrating the measure's failure, saying, "I am grateful to every voter who waded through another ballot fight featuring two confusing, competing measures and made their voice heard. Voters recognize that our recovery depends on creating opportunity through jobs, thriving small businesses, and attracting investment—not making it harder for employers to grow here." [SFist]
• Steve Hilton's lead over Tom Steyer in the governor's race primary has narrowed just over 200,000 votes, with around 83% of the vote now counted. [NBC News]

National:

• Let the Republican cries of election rigging begin/continue! Progressive candidate for Los Angeles mayor Nithya Raman was declared the second-place vote-getter in the primary, edging out Republican candidate and former reality TV figure Spencer Pratt by about three percentage points. [New York Times]
• New York Knicks fans naturally booed President Trump's appearance at the sold-out Game 3 tonight at Madison Square Garden. [CNN]
• Fired 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, who had been with the broadcast for 37 years, went pretty scorched earth in an interview with the Times' The Interview podcast over the weekend, saying in no uncertain terms that Bari Weiss should be fired and "television is not her thing." [New York Times]

Video:

• In case you missed it over the weekend, the one and only Lizzo was in town, performing Saturday at Genentech's 50th anniversary Genentech Gives Back Concert, and she took a trip up to the Castro Saturday and gave patrons at the Lookout a thrill with a little impromptu lip sync performance you can see below.

Top image: Photo by Anthony Sebbo

SF General Hospital received its steepest fine on record from Cal/OSHA, which found the hospital did not take the proper measures to prevent violent workplace incidents prior to the fatal stabbing of a social worker in December.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has fined San Francisco General Hospital a record $130,500 for seven workplace-violence-prevention violations, six deemed serious. The fine follows the fatal stabbing of 51-year-old UCSF social worker Alberto Rangel at Ward 86, the hospital’s HIV clinic, in December, as the Chronicle reports.

As SFist reported in December, a patient, Wilfredo Tortolero-Arriechi, now 35, entered the clinic holding a kitchen knife and allegedly stabbed Rangel multiple times in the neck and shoulder while Rangel attempted to de-escalate the situation and escort him out. Rangel died two days later.

In January, Tortolero-Arriechi pleaded not guilty to the fatal stabbing, and his attorney claimed he was suffering a mental health crisis at the time.

SFist reported last week that Rangel’s husband, Stuart Moulder, announced plans to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. According to KQED, Nick Casper, an attorney for Moulder, pointed to similarities between the report’s findings and workplace-safety issues Cal/OSHA identified after a nurse was attacked at the hospital in 2019. The previous incident resulted in a $26,660 state fine. This latest penalty is reportedly the largest Cal/OSHA has imposed on SF General.

“The findings really paint a picture of two specific-but-related failures,” Casper said. “There were longstanding systemic deficiencies involving security, training, coordination and workplace violence prevention. And there were specific failures about appropriately responding to a known and escalating threat posed by this patient.”

The agency’s investigation identified 77 separate safety failures, including inadequate security staffing, poor coordination between hospital staff, security personnel, and law enforcement, and the lack of a clear threat-management plan for potentially violent patients, per the Chronicle.

According to the report, hospital officials failed to effectively restrict access to the clinic, screen for weapons, communicate threat information to staff, or ensure that security personnel monitored Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi after learning he was headed to the facility. Inspectors also cited broken surveillance cameras, inconsistent security coverage, insufficient staff training, and the absence of procedures for reporting and responding to violent threats.

KQED reports that following the stabbing, the Department of Public Health says it added security staff, launched a threat-management team, installed metal detectors, and implemented other safety measures. City officials have also committed $15 million annually, along with $7.5 million in one-time infrastructure funding, toward healthcare worker safety improvements across the department.

Previously: Husband of Social Worker Killed at SF General Hospital to File Lawsuit Against City

Image: Exterior view of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital  and Trauma Center building - San Francisco, California, USA - May 26,  2024 (Getty Images)

A stolen SUV that was speeding and driving recklessly on the streets of East Oakland Monday reportedly crashed into an Oakland Police Department SUV, killing two passengers in the stolen vehicle and injuring an Oakland officer.

The crash happened around 11:10 am Monday, as Bay Area News Group reports, in the area of East 12th Street and 29th Avenue.

The incident began with an Oakland Housing Authority police officer seeing a Chevy Tahoe SUV driving recklessly on East 12th Street. The officer turned on his emergency lights and attempted a traffic stop, as NBC Bay Area reports, but the suspect vehicle took off at a high rate of speed.

In accordance with OHAPD policy, the officer turned off his lights and did not pursue the fleeing vehicle.

Moments later, as the allegedly stolen SUV was speeding down East 12th Street, it rammed into the Oakland Police Department vehicle. The officers in the OPD SUV were not involved in the call regarding the stolen vehicle, and just happened to be on patrol in the area.

Per Bay Area News Group, the SUV proceeded about a quarter block further before the vehicle flipped overa and landed on its side, killing two of the occupants.

"The two men who died were thrown from the vehicle," the news group reports. "One of them ended up on the center median underneath elevated BART tracks. The other ended up on the pavement in front of the crashed SUV."

Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the SUV allegedly tried to flee on foot before he was apprehended by the OHAPD officer who had initially spotted the speeding vehicle.

It was unclear whether the suspect required hospitalization, per the news group, and the condition of the injured OPD officer is not known at this time.

KTVU was on the scene following the crash, and the investigation has reportedly shut down East 12th Street in both directions between 25th and 30th avenues.

This is a developing story.

Top image via Getty Images

A man and a woman were reportedly shot and critically injured Monday morning in what police are calling an isolated incident at a Kaiser medical office building in San Jose.

The shooting reportedly took place around 10 am Monday at Kaiser Permanente's medical offices at 5755 Cottle Road in San Jose. A man and a woman were shot, according to San Jose police, and both suffered life-threatening injuries.

As KTVU reports, Kaiser subsequently issued a shelter-in-place order which was lifted around noon.

The shooting took place in an area between an outpatient psychiatric facility and an opthamology clinic, according to ABC 7.

Lisa Cohn, whose husband works at the medical facility as a surgeon, tells ABC 7, "He said that he heard screaming and a SWAT team of police came in all through the building and moved them away from the windows and into a center area of the Kaiser Permanente ophthalmology facility."

Police said this was an "isolated incident," and per KTVU, chopper footage showed police escorting people out of the building.

It's not clear if a suspect is in custody, and no suspect information has been shared yet by police.

This is a developing story.

Top image: Photo via Google Street View

All eyes will be on SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su and two other school figures from Chicago and Virginia who are set to speak before a GOP-led committee in DC this week on “inappropriate content” and “legal abuses” in public schools.

Maria Su, superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, is headed to testify Wednesday morning before the House Committee on Education and Workforce, in a hearing focused on “parental rights,” classroom content, and alleged legal abuses in K–12 schools. As the Chronicle reports, the session, set to begin at 7:15 am PDT, is chaired by Representative Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) and will also feature superintendents from Chicago and Loudoun County, Virginia.

Su is likely to face pointed questioning on issues including transgender student policies, locker room access, sexual health curriculum, pronoun use, and parent notification rules. The hearing reportedly comes as Republican lawmakers intensify scrutiny of school districts in Democratic-led cities, with a focus on policies they argue limit parental oversight.

In written remarks submitted ahead of the hearing, Su emphasizes SFUSD’s focus on academic outcomes alongside student well-being, saying schools must be safe and inclusive for learning to occur. According to the Chronicle, Su writes that the district serves all students regardless of background and works to create environments free from harassment, bullying, and discrimination.

Su’s statement also highlights San Francisco’s history of LGBTQ rights and diversity, noting the district’s efforts to incorporate that history into education. At the same time, she underscores core academic goals including third-grade literacy, eighth-grade math, and college and career readiness, and describes parents as essential partners with defined rights to information, participation, and opt-out provisions in areas such as reproductive health instruction.

Su adds that SFUSD has recently updated curriculum, improved operations, strengthened its financial position, and begun work on its enrollment system, while acknowledging ongoing challenges ahead.

The Chronicle reports that Su is being represented by the City Attorney’s Office, and either San Francisco, the county, or both will be required to cover the costs associated with travel and legal support for the hearing.

A recent Supreme Court decision, Mahmoud v. Taylor, reportedly added new precedent allowing parents to opt their children out of instruction that conflicts with their religious beliefs, in a case involving LGBTQ-themed books in an Alabama elementary school. Legal experts say the ruling leaves unclear how schools are expected to implement it, and critics argue it could give individual families broader influence over classroom content based on religious objections — an issue that is expected to surface during Wednesday’s hearing.

Su is the latest Bay Area K–12 leader to appear before the same committee, following Berkeley Unified Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel’s testimony in May 2024 at a hearing focused on antisemitism in schools, as SFist reported previously. That session drew national attention, though Morthel faced relatively limited scrutiny compared to the New York City schools chancellor, who became the primary focus, per the Chronicle.

The format will reportedly give each superintendent a five-minute opening statement, followed by rounds of five-minute questioning from committee members, with no fixed end time. The Chronicle notes that experts and local officials expect aggressive questioning on politically charged education issues, and say the hearing may hinge on whether witnesses directly engage with lawmakers or attempt to avoid rhetorical traps.

SF Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman said the hearing is likely to be performative at points, and that Su will need to balance defending district policies with avoiding exchanges that could escalate into viral or politically damaging moments.

Related: Berkeley Schools Superintendent Called to Testify Before Congressional Committee Over Antisemitism Claims

Image: SFUSD/Facebook

We're having an early kickoff to fire season this year and/or there is no distinct fire "season" anymore, with an offshore wind event expected to raise wildfire risks across Northern California this week.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Sacramento Valley starting Wednesday morning, and they are warning of elevated fire risks in much of the North Bay as well due to an incoming wind event.

Winds are expected to be blowing out of the north and northeast Wednesday evening into Thursday, with low humidity expected particularly in the Napa Valley and Sacramento region. Gusts of 30 to 45 miles per hour are expected in parts of Northern California, leading to the elevated wildfire risk.

Wind gusts in Sonoma and Napa counties are expected to peak around 25 miles per hour, but could be stronger at higher elevations.

PG&E has not yet announced any public safety power shutoffs (PSPS), but the utility is warning that some shutoffs may occur on Wednesday, as the Chronicle reports.

Exact addresses that can expect power shutoffs will receive notifications perhaps later today or on Tuesday.

In its seven-day PSPS forecast, PG&E says that shutoffs are possible Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday across eight NorCal counties: Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, and Yolo.

PG&E has routinely performed these targeted shutoffs since 2019, when the PSPS protocal began in the wake of the deadly Camp Fire in November 2018. In 2021, after PG&E faced criminal charges stemming from the fire, a federal judge imposed strict guidance over when power shutoffs must occur, in order to decrease wildfire risk from sparking power lines.

This year has already seen one PSPS event in mid-May, when power was cut for pockets of PG&E customers in 15 counties, with 4,700 customers affected in all.

Typically these shutoffs, which often coincide with offshore wind events like the Diablo winds, tend to occur later in the summer and in the fall, when wildfire risk tends to be greatest from dry ground conditions as well.

Photo by Jaredd Craig

The death of San Francisco firefighter Ken Jones has renewed calls to reform Blue Shield, the city's designated insurance provider. The late firefighter’s battle to treat his stage 4 lung cancer first gained attention in January, with advocates now blaming delays in care for his premature passing.

According to NBC Bay Area, Jones died on Saturday from lung cancer following a public, four-month battle with his health insurance provider after Blue Shield of California denied the medical treatment requested by Jones’ oncologist on two separate occasions.

In a quote, former SFFD chief Jeanine Nicholson, a close friend to Jones for decades, voiced her belief that Blue Shield bears responsibility in Jones' death.

“I believe, wholeheartedly, that they expedited his death,” Nicholson said. “They should be ashamed.”

She also noted that it was Jones who drove her to medical appointments for six months after Nicholson was diagnosed with breast cancer over a decade ago.

The case of Ken Jones first sparked outcry earlier this year with news that the ailing former firefighter's efforts to get Blue Cross to cover treatments for his lung cancer recommended by his oncologist had twice been denied. Dr. Matthew Gubens, Jones’ oncologist, told NBC Bay Area that delays in obtaining approval for treatments likely cost his patient time he didn't have to spare.

“The time spent trying to get approval of a regimen that I requested, [Ken] lost ground – tumors are growing, pain is increasing, his appetite is going down,” Gubens explained.

The only silver lining is the possibility Jones' plight will lead to necessary changes.

Last month, Blue Shield confirmed they will assign "dedicated care managers" to help clients with complex claims, reports ABC 7. The cause is also being championed by non-profit watchdog group Protect Our Benefits, who confirmed on Monday that they plan to meet with Blue Shield to press for updates while working to secure additional reforms.

Related: Retired SF Firefighter Denied Cancer Treatment, Causing City to Question Blue Shield Health Plan

Image: GoFundMe

Image via U.S. Geological Survey

A one-year-old boy is now hospitalized in critical condition after a truck reportedly smashed into the side of his family's Oakland apartment building earlier today.

The initial report from ABC7 indicates the crash occurred around 9:30am on Saturday in the vicinity of 57th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.

The boy's uncle told reporters that a vehicle "came crashing in the side" from the direction of a nearby car wash. Falling debris from the impact caused the one-year-old boy's unknown injuries, the family additionally confirmed.

As of now, it's also unclear what caused the crash to take place.  

This is a developing story.

Related: Person Thrown From Three-Wheeler In Collision With Car In SF's Western Addition, Four Hospitalized

Image: January 27, 2019 Oakland / CA / USA - Oakland Police Department vehicle parked on the street (Getty Images)