Too Many Ballot Measures: Why San Francisco Needs To Fix Its Charter
Tired of ballots crammed with dozens of measures you barely understand? You're not alone. Every election, our ballots are bloated with local propositions—often 15 or more in a single election! They…
Why the 6th floor of the Westfield is the perfect place for a new police academy
A new home for SFPD training San Francisco’s police academy is falling apart. We detailed its problems in an earlier post : a crumbling 1960s elementary school on Amber Drive, filled with asbestos…
The Commission Streamlining Task Force
2025-11-21San Francisco's government is about to undergo big changes. Thanks to 2024's Prop E, a new Commission Streamlining Task Force is hard at work studying our commission system and preparing…
Build a World-Class Police Training Pipeline at San Francisco’s Universities
San Francisco needs more qualified police officers. Today, just 1.3% of applicants to the SFPD academy graduate: a rate far lower than the national average of 2–5%. That’s not a mark of elite…
San Francisco’s Police Academy is a 1960s Elementary School – It’s Time That Change
The academy’s roots The San Francisco Police Academy sits at 350 Amber Drive in the Diamond Heights neighbourhood. It is not a purpose‑built police facility. It is a former elementary school…
How popular is housing, really?
For the past three years, GrowSF has regularly polled on the popularity of various housing proposals. From upzoning, to homeless shelters, to high rises, and the cost of living, we've been keeping…
Why is it so hard to hire a police officer in San Francisco?
In 2023, only 1.3% of people who applied to become a San Francisco police officer made it from application to graduation from the academy. Of the 3,008 people who applied, 72 were admitted to the…
San Francisco's retail vacancy problem
San Francisco is grappling with stubbornly high retail vacancies. COVID and the rise of remote work are certainly big factors in our crisis, but they're not the whole story. In fact, San Francisco's…
How Prop A is Improving What SF Students Eat
San Francisco public school kids are now getting healthier lunches, cooked locally, thanks to Prop A from November 2024. In 2009, SFUSD just had five cooking staff and primarily served frozen meals…
