Hundreds of 311 Drug-Use Reports Never Reached Police

Published August 21, 2026

https://growsf.org/news/2026-08-21-311-drug-use-reports-never-reached-police

The Facts

San Franciscans used 311 to report public drug use at least 8,000 times this year, but none of those reports were forwarded to police, Garrett Leahy reports at The Standard. Instead, 311 closed requests and told residents to call police themselves, despite the Department of Emergency Management advising residents to only use 911 for true emergencies.

SolveSF records show residents repeatedly receiving “call PD” responses after their cases were closed.

The Context

The city presents 311 online services as one place to report street problems. Its public dataset even includes fields for the responsible agency and status notes, so routing a digital report should be routine.

The GrowSF Take

We shouldn't have to study City Hall’s org chart before asking for help. The Mayor should order 311 to properly handle these requests for help instead of closing them with no action, and if they refuse, then he should find new leadership to run the department.

Thank you to Supervisor Mahmood for "working with the mayor’s office to stop these complaints from falling through the cracks."

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Homeless Shelters Face New Neighborhood Standards

Published August 20, 2026

https://growsf.org/news/2026-08-19-homeless-shelters-good-neighbor-standards

The Facts

In an effort to clean up the sidewalks, City-funded shelters must now comply with new neighborhood rules requiring three daily perimeter checks, trash removal, and posted QR codes for complaints. Repeated violations can trigger staffing changes or contractual action when enforcement begins in January, reports Delilah Brumer at the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Context

Dirty streets remain a persistent problem. In nearly 2,600 inspections during the year ending June 2025, the Controller found feces on 34% of evaluated routes, at least one large dumped item on 32%, and an average of 23 instances of graffiti per route. Ordinary litter was essentially unchanged from the prior year.

The GrowSF Take

Neighborhood disorder should not be the price of helping people indoors. Clear rules protect shelter residents and neighbors while making it easier to open the shelter beds San Francisco needs.

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Ethics Commission Proposes One Good Campaign Finance Rule and Two Bad Ones

Published August 20, 2026

https://growsf.org/news/2026-08-14-ethics-commission-campaign-finance-loopholes

The Facts

The Ethics Commission voted 4-0 to propose three campaign finance changes: apply the city's contribution limit to other committees a candidate controls, count PAC republication of a candidate's campaign materials (e.g. using a photo or video clip from the candidate in an ad) as a contribution to that candidate, and restrict the use of committee money to pay ethics penalties.

The proposal needs eight votes at the Board of Supervisors and would take effect no earlier than January 1, 2027.

The Context

The draft ordinance counts any reuse of a candidate's campaign materials "in whole or in part" — written, graphic, audio, or video — as a contribution to that candidate, subject to the $500 limit. (A separate bill would raise the limit to $1,000.)

That language is similar to the federal republication rule, which the FEC has effectively abandoned, with commissioners warning that penalizing republication without proof of actual coordination is unlikely to survive a court challenge. San Francisco would be adopting this same abandoned rule.

In the November 2024 mayoral race, Mark Farrell paid the largest ethics fine on record, $108,000, for improperly using a candidate-controlled ballot measure committee to subsidize his mayoral campaign.

The GrowSF Take

There's one good change and two bad ones in this proposal.

First, the good: Contributions to candidate-controlled committees should absolutely be subject to the same contribution limits as candidate committees. The current rules impose a $500 limit on donations to John Smith for Mayor, but allow unlimited contributions to Yes on A, run by the same John Smith. Candidates use this loophole to plaster their face and name around the city saying things like "Yes on A, endorsed by John Smith!" These are campaign expenditures in everything but name and should be treated as such.

Now, the bad:

The republication rule invites a lawsuit. A PAC using a few seconds of publicly available campaign footage inside its own independently produced ad is not coordination, and the federal government has declined to punish the exact same conduct under the exact same rule because it doubts the rule would survive in court. San Francisco should not pick a legal fight with well-resourced groups that the city is likely to lose.

The ethics fine rule goes further than it should. Under the proposal, a candidate's committee could still pay fines for ordinary compliance mistakes, but candidates found to have acted knowingly or willfully must pay personally, and legal defense funds are barred from paying personal penalties entirely. Personal exposure to five- and six-figure fines — with the same commission that levies the fine deciding whether the violation was "willful" — will scare away all but the wealthiest candidates.

The Board should narrow this measure to the contribution limit, the one clearly good rule the Ethics Commission is proposing.

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Mandelman Removes Bilal Mahmood From Committees After Housing Clash

Published August 20, 2026

https://growsf.org/news/2026-08-17-mandelman-removes-bilal-mahmood-from-committees-after-housing-clash

The Facts

Board President Rafael Mandelman stripped Supervisor Bilal Mahmood of his roles on the Land Use and Government Audit & Oversight committees after a disagreement over Mahmood's proposed amendments to Mandelman's historic preservation ordinance. J.D. Morris and Alyce McFadden at The Chronicle report that Mahmood received no warning and suspects retaliation over the amendments.

The Context

Mandelman and Mayor Daniel Lurie want to designate about 2,500 additional landmarks by 2030 while accelerating the approval process. The pending ordinance would govern landmark and historic-district designations.

Mahmood proposed sensible amendments calculating how much housing capacity would be removed by landmarking, and where the city must replace that lost capacity.

The GrowSF Take

Mahmood is right, and Mandelman handled this terribly. Removing Mahmood without warning after a policy clash is petty.

Calling Mahmood’s amendment “red tape” is particularly rich. Landmarking is permanent red tape on future construction. Counting how many homes it blocks is basic due diligence, not obstruction.

We consider Mandelman an ally, but allies do not get a free pass. He should restore Mahmood to Land Use or at the very least give his amendments a hearing and a vote.

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Cinderella Bakery Opens After Calle 24 Blocked It for Eight Years

Published August 20, 2026

https://growsf.org/news/2026-08-20-cinderella-bakery-opens-mission-location

The Facts

Cinderella Bakery will finally open its second San Francisco location at 2937 24th Street on Friday, August 28, after being blocked for nearly eight years by neighborhood activists who didn't like that Cinderella was not a Latino business, reports Oscar Palma at Mission Local.

The Jewish-owned Russian bakery has operated in the Richmond since 1953 and joined the city’s Legacy Business Registry in 2017.

The Context

The former space was vacated by La Victoria’s after its owners forced the bakery out after years of financial trouble and internal disputes; a former employee later reopened it nearby.

Calle 24 pressured City Hall to enact special cultural conditions for businesses in the corridor.

The GrowSF Take

Calle 24 targeted a Jewish-owned legacy business because its roots were Russian rather than Latino.

This was a shakedown dressed up as activism. Cinderella doesn't owe anyone proof that they belong, and City Hall should stop tolerating this kind of behavior from neighborhood groups.

City Hall should repeal Calle 24’s special conditions and let independent businesses open without a self-appointed neighborhood dictator's approval.

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