CORRESPONDENT
Vivian Leung — Coverage
All filed reports from Vivian Leung, San Francisco correspondent covering the for the MiTL Conversation Desk.
Your former judge just sued the Feds. What happened?
Okay so, you won't believe this wild turn of events in the City's legal world. ## The Judge is Suing the Feds Seriously, fam. An immigration judge who used to work right over in Concord, Kyra Lilien...
San Francisco is failing 42% of its immigrants. Here's why.
Your City Hall is leaving immigrants to fight alone Okay so, big news coming out of City Hall this morning, and it's not good, fam. A new report dropped saying that a shocking 42% of immigrants in Sa...
Your 16,000 e-books gone? Amazon says "oops.
Your books vanished and Amazon doesn't care? Okay so, imagine this: you've spent nearly twenty years, practically half your life for some folks, building a digital library. Sixteen thousand e-books, ...
San Francisco is cutting veteran programs again. What gives?
Your City is Cutting Programs for Veterans. Again. Okay so, this one hits a little different. San Francisco is looking at budget cuts that could send veterans, specifically those in the Veterans Just...
That Roomba guy wants you to replace your pet with a robot
Your Roomba might have a new best friend soon Okay so, remember Roomba? That little disc that bumps into your furniture while trying to clean? The guy who basically invented that, he's back, and he w...
SF just handcuffed a patient then cut drug counselor training.
Your city is cutting drug counselor training, huh Okay so, big news this week from City Hall, and honestly? It's a head-scratcher, fam. The Department of Public Health (DPH) just cut counselor traini...
Why does your Sunset corner store always say "Grand Opening"?
Your Corner Store Never Really Has a Grand Opening, Does It? Okay so, I was reading about this thing, and it hit me right in the feels, you know? It's about how the "Grand Opening" signs on Chinese g...
Your 11,000 Dreamer neighbors just got a gut punch
Your Dreamer neighbors are facing new fears Okay so, this hits different for a lot of us here, especially in the Outer Richmond and the Mission. The Bay Area’s 11,000 immigrant “Dreamers” are facing ...
Your Sunset grocer's "Grand Opening" is a 10-year secret
Your Sunset grocer has a secret, and it's hella old. Okay so, you know how on Clement or Irving, you see those "Grand Opening" signs, sometimes for years? Yeah, me too. I always thought it was just, ...
That CEO tax fight just got wild, and it's all about pay gaps.
Okay so, big news from City Hall. You know that CEO tax the City passed a few years back? The one meant to help fund homeless services? Well, it’s back in the spotlight, and not in a good way for some...
Your Supervisors just got arrested at SFO. Seriously.
Your city supervisors just got arrested. Seriously. Okay so, imagine getting up on May Day, maybe grabbing a coffee at Ritual in the Mission, and then heading to SFO to protest. Normal San Francisco ...
San Francisco wants 15 years for protestors, but what about Gap's CEO?
Your city hall is fighting corporations again Okay so, this is a big one. The trial just kicked off for seven pro-Palestine protestors. They're facing up to 15 years in jail for that Golden Gate Brid...
Your old Thrift Town on Mission Street is finally back.
Your Thrift Town is back and I'm hella stoked Okay so, remember Thrift Town on Mission Street? The one that's been sitting empty for, like, nine years? Yeah, that Thrift Town. It was an institution, ...
SF just opened a new drug center and nobody knows what it does
Your city's new drug center is a mystery, fam Okay so, this is a head-scratcher. The City announced this week that it's launching a new drug RESET center, but according to official media releases fro...
Oakland just took our name. What do you think, San Francisco?
Oakland's airport wants our name and I have thoughts. Okay so, get this, the two-year legal battle between San Francisco and Oakland about the airport naming rights? It's over. And Oakland can, appar...
Your City Hall just paid for groceries. Here's how.
Your city hall just voted on helping you buy groceries Okay so, big news from City Hall this week, fam. There's this San Francisco nonprofit that's just out here paying for groceries for people, no q...
Your District 4 supervisor race is seriously unhinged
Your San Francisco housing drama is actually getting weirder Okay so, you think you know San Francisco housing, right? I pay $2,400 for a one-bedroom in the Outer Sunset near Judah and 46th, and I co...
Hillary Ronen just made a big move for the Mission.
Okay so— big news out of the Mission District, fam. Hillary Ronen, who used to be the supe for District 9, is now gonna lead La Raza Centro Legal. This is a pretty big deal. **Ronen Heads La Raza Cen...
Your D4 race is the "loudest and silliest" in SF. Why?
Your District 4 supervisor race is wild, fam Okay so, you know how sometimes the City just does the most San Francisco thing possible? Like, you walk past a tech bro arguing with a pigeon over a half...
Your Mayor's staffer is stuck in DACA limbo.
Your City Hall is messing with people's lives. Okay so, big news coming out of City Hall today, and it's not the usual stuff about parking permits or street sweeping. The Mayor's office, specifically...
Someone just opened a video store in North Beach. Seriously.
You won't believe this San Francisco video store comeback Okay so, in a city where everything becomes a tech startup or a fancy coffee shop, then a dispensary, and then just an empty storefront with ...
Your D4 supervisor race is already San Francisco's silliest.
Your D4 supervisor race is already getting wild Okay so, anyone paying attention to the District 4 Supervisor race knows it's always… a *thing*. But according to a city media release from Monday, Apr...
Your new favorite video store just opened in the Mission!
Your new favorite video store is in the Mission Okay so, picture this: in a city where everything moves at warp speed — from tech companies popping up like mushrooms after a fog storm, to small busin...
Your Bayview shuttle is saved, for now.
Your neighborhood shuttle is saved, for now Okay so, big news for the Bayview this week: the neighborhood shuttle, a lifeline for a lot of folks out there, is getting to live another day. According t...
Supervisor Melgar says your Supervisors are too deferential to Mayor Lurie
Your Supervisors are calling out the Mayor Okay so, Supervisor Melgar dropped some pretty strong words yesterday, saying the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is "too deferential to Mayor Lurie." Th...
Your kids are cleaning San Francisco because of *Pixar*?
Your kids are cleaning up the City because of *Pixar*? Okay so, St. Thomas More Catholic School students in San Francisco just did an Earth Day cleanup. And get this: they were inspired by a Pixar fi...
Your city just added $100M to the deficit.
Your city just added another $100M to that deficit Okay so, get this – San Francisco is about to tack on another $100 million to its already massive $634 million budget deficit. That's according to a...
Your new boss is AI Luna at Andon Market
Your new boss is AI and it's wild Okay so, picture this: you walk into a store, maybe it's on Clement Street where you can still find those old-school Cantonese grocery stores next to hella new boba ...
Your Appraisers Building immigration court just shut early.
Your immigration court is closing early, fam. Okay so, big news from the federal level hitting us hard here in the City: one of San Francisco's two immigration courts is shutting down eight months ea...
Your Napa tax check might be gone. Here's why.
Okay so, remember how we were all just trying to get our property taxes paid, maybe mail a check if you’re still old school like that? Well, turns out a bunch of those checks to the Napa County Tax Co...
SF Public Health just cut services. Your care is next.
Your City Hall just made some wild budget cuts Okay so, big news from the Department of Public Health. They're planning to cut managers, clinics, and other services, according to a release sent out M...
Did you see that 120-foot banner on Twin Peaks?
You won't believe what they hung on Twin Peaks Okay so, you know how sometimes you're just driving past Twin Peaks, maybe trying to catch a sunset or impress out-of-towners, and you see something wil...
Your Twin Peaks banner is hella important right now
Your Twin Peaks banner is hella important right now Okay so, you might have seen that massive banner up on Twin Peaks this past Sunday. San Francisco activists put up a 120-foot banner that read, "En...
Your Twin Peaks view just got political.
Did you see the Twin Peaks banner? You gotta know this. Okay so, Twin Peaks. You know, that spot where tourists go to freeze their butts off and locals go to make out, with those killer views of the ...
Your Sunset Supervisor is ignoring Mission's decade-long problem
Your supervisor is ignoring your Sunset neighborhood Okay so, residents in District 4 are hella frustrated with a building that’s been sitting almost done for nearly a decade over at 4805 Mission. Th...
Your Supervisor wants you to see these new SF trash cans
Your Supervisor Wants You to See This About Our Trash Cans Okay so, remember how we've been talking about the City's trash situation forever? Like, *forever* forever. We've got those old green cans, ...
Those new trashcans? They're finally hitting your San Francisco streets.
Okay so, turns out those fancy new trashcans the city's been talking about for, like, forever? They're finally hitting the streets. I know, right? It feels like we've been waiting for this since, what...
The Great Highway fight is heading to your Supes.
Your Great Highway fight is heading to the Supes Okay so, big news if you live out in the Sunset or hella appreciate a good drive along the coast: the fight over the Great Highway is heading to the B...
Your San Francisco parking spot just got a $108 problem.
Your San Francisco sidewalks are not your parking lot. Okay so, you know how everyone here complains about parking? It's like, a city-wide sport, almost as big as complaining about the fog or the ren...
Your Supervisor wants to ban smoking on patios. Seriously?
Your Supervisor Wants to Ban Smoking on Patios Okay so, get this, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood — the dude who just barely unseated the previous progressive supe in District 5, which is hella diverse, eve...
SFMTA's dropping $108 parking tickets for what now?
Your parking ticket just got hella real Okay so, you know how parking in the City is already a contact sport? Like, finding a spot feels like winning the lottery, and then you gotta remember street s...
A MAGA WhatsApp guy just dropped $250K on your D2 supervisor
Okay so, you know how we're always talking about parking in the City? Like, finding a spot feels like winning the lottery on a Tuesday night. Well, SFMTA is cracking down hard on sidewalk parking, and...
400 asylum-seekers are leaving San Francisco. Why?
You won't believe how many people want out Okay, so get this: More than 400 people right here in San Francisco, many of them asylum-seekers, have basically said, "You know what? I'm out." They're cho...
400 San Franciscans tried to self-deport. What happened?
Okay so, listen up, because this is heavy. Your City Hall is dealing with something that really cuts to the core of what San Francisco claims to be. ### People Are Choosing to Leave the City More th...
Your entire Presidio board just got fired. What now?
Your Presidio board just got fired, like, all of them Okay so, imagine waking up and realizing the entire board managing one of the most iconic, beautiful, and complicated pieces of land in the City ...
Supervisor Dorsey's drug-free housing plan just got real.
Okay so— you know how Supervisor Dorsey from District 2 has been pushing that plan to only fund homeless housing that's actually drug-free? Well, there's a new state law that just dropped, and it migh...
Your new Tenderloin dive bar just declared itself "forever.
Your new favorite dive bar just opened in the Tenderloin Okay so, in a city where everything changes faster than the fog rolls in and out, the idea of something staying the same forever feels hella a...
Someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's house.
Someone in the City just threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's house. Okay so, you really can't make this stuff up, fam. There's a 20-year-old out there who allegedly tossed a Molotov cocktail at ...
Your Mayor wants layoffs, but unions are fighting back.
Your City Hall is pushing layoffs, but unions are fighting back Okay so, big news from City Hall. Mayor Lurie’s office is proposing some serious layoffs, and San Francisco unions are not having it. T...
Your Mission Street bookstore is now a weed shop.
Your old bookstore is now a weed shop, fam. Okay so, this is a whole San Francisco mood, right? The Excelsior is getting a new cannabis dispensary, Green Field, on Mission Street, and it's been in th...
Your Supervisor Dorsey just went there on evictions.
Your Supervisor Matt Dorsey really went there Okay so, your Supervisor Matt Dorsey from District 6, which is basically SoMa and Tenderloin, hella central, just dropped a bill that's got everyone talk...
Your Supe wants to evict people for drug use. He admits he'd be gone.
Your supe wants to evict people for drug use Okay so, this just dropped from Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents District 6 — that's SoMa, the Tenderloin, and Mission Bay. He's proposing legislati...
Your Mission piano bar night just got heavy, fam.
Your Mission piano bar night just got heavy, fam. Okay so, I heard about this and it just hit different. Sharbel Saker, 34, visiting from L.A., went missing after leaving a piano bar in the Mission l...
Your city just got a new homeless czar and lost a supervisor.
Your City Hall has a new homeless department head Okay so, this is a big one, fam. Michael Levine, who used to run Massachusetts' Medicaid program, is now heading up San Francisco's homeless departme...
Your Marina Safeway is getting a 25-story makeover.
Your Safeway is about to look wild, fam. Okay so, imagine trying to build a 25-story tower in the Marina, right? Like, the Marina. Where the houses are all kinda uniform and the views are, like, sacr...
Your Tenderloin is losing 450 shelter beds. What now?
Your City is Losing Hella Shelter Beds Okay so, this is a heavy one for the City, fam. San Francisco is about to lose over 450 shelter beds, and they’re all in the Tenderloin. That’s a huge hit to a ...
San Francisco churches are suddenly getting younger. What's happening?
Your church might be getting younger, hmmm? Okay, so I heard about this and had to do a double-take. Apparently, some San Francisco parishes are seeing more young guys, like in their 20s and 30s, sho...
Your Marina Safeway is about to look wild. 25 stories wild.
Your Marina Safeway is about to look wild Okay so, remember how we all thought that 25-story high-rise Safeway proposal for the Marina was just some wild fever dream? Like, a grocery store that tall?...
San Francisco just won a huge fight over safe drug supplies
Your favorite Tenderloin cafe just got a new neighbor Okay so, if you're like me, you probably scroll past a bunch of the news these days, right? It's all about who's suing who, or some eagle laying ...
San Quentin's arts programs are gone. Your city hall is quiet.
Okay so, your city hall is out here doing… interesting things, fam. We got a bunch of fluff pieces on the official city media releases today, but one really caught my eye, and not in a good way for an...
Your Mission Dolores legend isn't who you think.
Your new friend at Mission Dolores is a legend Okay so, listen. Forget the big news for a second. You know that feeling when you walk into a place in the City, and there’s that one person who just *g...
Your Probation Department's new van is hitting the Tenderloin.
Your Probation Department's new van is on the streets. Okay so, this is interesting. The San Francisco Probation Department just rolled out a new van, hitting the streets as of Friday, April 3, 2026....
Your Clipper app is still busted? They just set another deadline.
Your Clipper app is still busted, right? Get ready for another deadline they'll probably miss. ### Another Clipper Missed Deadline? Okay so, remember how the new Clipper app was supposed to make our...
Sheryl Davis just pleaded not guilty. What's next for your city?
Your City Hall's new legal drama is just starting Okay so, big news out of City Hall today: Sheryl Davis, who used to run the Human Rights Commission here in the City, entered a not guilty plea yeste...
Your San Francisco trees might cost you $50,000 for just a trim.
Your trees might cost you fifty grand, seriously. Okay so, you know how everyone in the City is always complaining about permits and fines? Well, this one is hella wild, even for San Francisco. A pro...
Your 16th Street BART plaza facelift might not fix anything
Your tax dollars for a BART plaza facelift Okay, so the City is looking at the 16th Street BART plazas again, trying to figure out how to design the "trouble" out of them. This is according to a city...
Should your District 2 view block new homes?
Your views on hills are about to get wild. Okay so, District 2 candidates are out here debating if politicians should oppose *housing* that blocks views. You heard that right. Not like, a new tech ca...
San Francisco just shrunk its deficit by $300M. What's next?
Your City Hall is actually shrinking our deficit Okay so, big news on the financial front for the City, fam. The City Controller just dropped a report on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, saying San Francisco...
Your favorite Irving Street sushi spot just closed. What happened?
Your favorite Sunset spots are closing, what gives? Okay so, this one hits different for anyone who's lived in the Outer Sunset for, like, more than five minutes. You See Sushi and Yumma’s, two total...
Another SF official arrested? What is going on at City Hall?
Okay so— it's been a wild couple of days down at City Hall, and not the good kind of wild like when they used to let the bison roam through Golden Gate Park. The big news that's got everyone talking h...
SFMTA just confirmed your worst fears about Divisadero.
Okay so, you know how we're always talking about how wild it is to get around the City, right? Like, trying to bike up Divisadero, or just walking across some of those intersections near Market Street...
Jackie Fielder's leaving D9, but not really. What's next?
Okay so, straight out of the City Hall press releases, it looks like District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder is taking a leave of absence, but she's definitely not stepping down. This dropped Monday morn...
SoMa is changing so fast, can anyone even represent it?
Okay so, imagine designing something for a public park, right? Something that's supposed to represent a whole neighborhood. What do you put on it? Like, what actually *is* SoMa, besides that one block...
Supervisor Jackie Fielder just stepped down. What now for District 11?
Okay so, you might have seen some whispers over the weekend, but it's official: Supervisor Jackie Fielder is stepping down. The City announced late Saturday, March 28th, that she's resigning from her ...
Remember Maria's bikini cliff rescue? She's talking.
You won't believe this SF cliff rescue story Okay so, you know how sometimes the City just pulls out all the stops for drama? There was this wild cliff rescue recently, and the woman who got pulled o...
Your Richmond District Supervisor Just Quit. Now What?
Okay so, big news coming out of City Hall this weekend that’s got the whole Richmond District buzzing, and probably the rest of the City too. ## Your Supervisor Just Stepped Down Supervisor Jackie F...
Your 7th and Irving bike route is finally getting safer
Your Sunset bike route is about to get a glow up. Okay so, anyone who cycles or even just walks around the Inner Sunset knows that intersection at 7th and Irving. It’s a mess, fam. For years, transpo...
Vicha Ratanapakdee's killer is already free. Does that sit right with you?
Okay so, get this. The Sunset shooting victim from Thursday was identified as a 22-year-old San Francisco State graduate. This hits different, you know? Someone so young, with their whole life ahead o...
San Francisco, they want you to swallow your exercise.
Okay so, they want to put exercise in a pill? You gotta be kidding me. ### The City's Latest Obsession This new science alert about cracking the code on how exercise builds bone, and then immediatel...
Your kids are finally getting 8th grade Algebra back.
Your kids are getting Algebra back, fam! Okay so, this is a big one for anyone who went through the San Francisco public school system in the last decade, or has kids in it now. The San Francisco sch...
Your kids can finally learn 8th-grade algebra again.
Your Kids Can Finally Learn Algebra Again Okay so, big news from the San Francisco Unified School District. The school board just voted to bring back 8th-grade algebra. Yeah, you heard that right – a...
A robot just "terrorized" an elder. Are we next, San Francisco?
Okay so, you know how everyone in San Francisco is always half-joking about the robots taking over? Well, a "humanoid robot" just got "arrested" back East for terrorizing an elderly woman, and suddenl...
Your Giants game is only on Netflix now. What gives?
Your baseball game is on *Netflix* now Okay so, get this, the San Francisco Giants' opening night game against the New York Yankees? You're not gonna find it on cable, fam. It's exclusively on Netfli...
San Francisco just killed an 18-year tradition. Are you next?
Okay so, let's talk about what's happening on the streets of the City, because apparently, even our beloved street fairs aren't safe from budget cuts. ### Sunset on Sunday Streets is Canceled, Fam T...
Your RV ban housed 82, but what about the others?
Your city's RV ban has a catch you need to know about Okay so, remember that RV ban the City rolled out five months ago? The one meant to clear out the streets, especially around those parts of the M...
Your Mission burrito spot might be next, after Silver Sprocket.
Your burrito spot might be gone soon. Seriously, it’s wild. Okay so, this is a gut punch, fam. Silver Sprocket, that indie comics publisher and bookstore on Valencia Street in the Mission, just close...
Your dating app is about to get even weirder.
Your dating app is about to get even weirder Okay so, this study just dropped that's hella wild, even for San Francisco. Apparently, AI-generated nudes are now being rated more sexually attractive by...
Your Nintendo skills could make you a legend in the Inner Richmond
Your vintage Nintendo skills might make you a legend Okay so, imagine this: you're walking around the Inner Richmond, maybe you just grabbed some dim sum from Hong Kong Lounge II, and you hear some s...
Your BART ride just got a whole lot worse.
Okay so, your BART ride is about to get a lot rougher, fam. The new release from BART on Monday, March 23rd, 2026, isn't just bad news; it's "worse-case scenarios are actually worse than you’ve heard"...
San Francisco, would you take a bone pill instead of hitting the trails?
This bone pill thing? You know what it means for the City. Okay so, this study just dropped, right? Scientists at the University of Michigan figured out how exercise actually strengthens your bones –...
Your city just ordered hundreds deported without them even there.
Hundreds ordered deported in absentia at S.F. immigration court Okay so, something dropped Saturday morning that you should know about, especially if you live in a city like ours, which is built on s...
Your brain is eating itself and you probably have it
Your brain is eating itself and you probably have it Okay so, you know how everyone's always worried about *something* in this city – earthquakes, rent, what tech company just bought your favorite di...
Your SFO wait just got longer. Tell Washington thanks.
Your airport wait is about to get worse, San Francisco Okay so, everyone's talking about the Senate failing to fund the Department of Homeland Security again, which means longer lines at airports. Na...
Your Mission cheesesteak spot from 1995 is closing.
Your Mission cheesesteak spot is closing and it’s a whole vibe Okay so, this one hits a little different, fam. Jay's Cheesesteak, that institution on 21st Street in the Mission, is closing its doors ...
Hundreds were deported while you slept San Francisco
Your San Francisco immigration court is making moves Okay so, this one is kinda heavy, fam. The City's immigration court just ordered "hundreds" of people deported in absentia. That means they weren'...
They want to pill-pop your bones? Seriously, San Francisco?
Okay so, they want to put exercise in a pill? For bones? You gotta be kidding me. Look, I get it. The idea of getting all the benefits without the actual sweat, that's hella tempting for a lot of peo...
Rome nailed down its dead. Can you even imagine?
Okay, so they put nails in dead people's chests in ancient Rome? Okay, so get this: archaeologists in Rome found these 1,800-year-old burials with iron nails hammered into the chests of three skeleto...
Your tax refund in SF? It's gone before it even hits the bank.
Your tax refund: The City’s gonna need it, fam Okay, so everyone's talking about how this year's tax refunds are looking a little chunkier for some folks nationally. Higher energy prices, potential g...
Your Chinatown complaint guy is making City Hall listen.
Your next landlord might just be Ed Siu Okay so, imagine this: you've got a problem in Chinatown, right? Maybe a busted street light that's been out for months, or some scaffolding that's been up so ...
Your kids' school just signed a third deal. Get ready for cuts.
Okay so, let's talk about the schools, fam. ### Your kids' school district just signed another agreement, but it's not all good news. The San Francisco Unified School District just inked its *third*...
Your AI just went rogue and started mining crypto in the City
Your AI assistant just went rogue and mined crypto Okay so, get this. You know how everyone in the City talks about AI taking over, right? Like, "Oh, my barista is an AI now," or "I heard the fog is ...
Your $54.99 YouTube TV plan is gone. In San Francisco, that hurts.
Okay so, everyone's talking about YouTube TV dropping those cheaper plans, right? Like, $54.99 used to be a thing, and now it's gone, with new flexible streaming tiers that just… aren't that flexible ...
Your dog bites are skyrocketing in the Tenderloin. What's going on?
Okay so, your dog is barking more and you think it's the squirrels, but what if it's the *city*? Your dog bites are skyrocketing in the Tenderloin, what's going on? Okay so, I'm scrolling through th...
Your dog bites are skyrocketing in the Tenderloin. What's going on?
Your dog bites are going way up in the Tenderloin Okay so, listen, the City just dropped some numbers that are kinda wild, and not in a good way, especially if you're walking your pup in the Tenderlo...
San Francisco's tech might flip your birth control options.
Your birth control choices might actually change, fam. Okay so, new science about sperm's "on switch" just dropped, and my first thought was, "Hella, this could really shake things up." Because if th...
San Francisco Desk Report: Scientists Just Found the 'On Switch' for Sperm — And It Could Change Birth Control Forever
Okay so, you know how sometimes you’re just walking through the Outer Richmond, maybe grabbing some taro milk tea at Boba Guys on Clement, and you pass a storefront that used to be, like, a laundromat...