New city data show fewer tents and occupied vehicles on San Francisco streets, a visible improvement as the Lurie administration expands enforcement and outreach.

San Francisco’s budget cuts are colliding with newly restored strike rights for city workers, setting up a potentially ugly fight over layoffs, contracts, and the city’s long-term fiscal strategy.

Mayor Daniel Lurie plans to appoint Michael Levine, a MassHealth executive, to lead San Francisco’s homelessness department. The move signals a stronger push to connect homelessness policy with addiction and mental-health treatment.

San Francisco’s projected two-year deficit fell to $642.8 million, but the city still faces painful cuts and structural gaps above $1 billion later this decade. The improvement is real, but the need for disciplined budgeting and accountability is too.

Mayor Lurie has shaken up the Mayor’s Office of Innovation just as the department expands with new Bloomberg funding. The move puts more pressure on City Hall to prove its permitting, contracting, and modernization efforts can still deliver results.