Monday News Roundup: Companies Return to the Office, Conflict for Campos

Hey San Francisco,

While I’m not much of a foodie, it’s not because San Francisco is lacking options. And last week, Eater SF turned the spotlight on some of the city’s new establishments with their maps of new cocktail bars and new restaurants.

Top bars include MOTHERSHIP (in the Mission), Copas (in the Castro), and Kaiyo Rooftop (in SoMa). As for the restaurants, check out Michelin-rated chef Cory Lee’s Korean barbecue place (San Ho Won), or Chuck’s Takeaway, started by Charles Phan of the late Slanted Door.

With all the bagel buzz these days, and my preference for breakfast food, I think I’ll start with Schlok’s near Divisadero and Fell.

Ok, let’s review last week’s news…

Office return promise 

On Thursday, Mayor Breed, along with several major San Francisco companies, made a public pledge to begin bringing workers back into the office starting this month. 

Companies making the commitment (dubbed “Welcome Back to SF”) include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Gap, Salesforce, Google, Meta, and Uber. San Francisco City and County workers will begin returning to their offices starting on March 7. 

The announcement should be welcomed news to downtown restaurants, bars, and retail shops, which saw a steep decline in customers as a result of work-from-home policies. 

“We cannot overstate how important workers returning to their offices is to our survival,” Bun Mee founder Denise Tran said in a statement. 

Still, it’s unclear how often employees of these companies will actually make the trip downtown. Google, for instance, recently told its Bay Area employees to expect to come into the office three days a week and work remotely the other two days. That new policy starts on April 4. 

State Assembly race heats up

A judge ruled on Tuesday that State Assembly candidate David Campos cannot list himself as a “civil rights attorney” on upcoming ballots, claiming the designation would be “misleading voters.”

Instead, Campos, who most recently served as chief of staff to District Attorney Chesa Boudin, will need to describe his occupation as a “criminal justice administrator.” 

The ruling resulted from a lawsuit filed by Supervisor Matt Haney, who will face Campos in a runoff election for San Francisco’s open State Assembly seat on April 19. 

“It is sad that Campos feels the need to hide his true occupation from voters, because he sees it as a political liability,” Elizabeth Power, a spokesperson for Matt Haney’s campaign, told the SF Standard. 

Meanwhile, in a phone interview with The Standard, Campos said: “We’re fine with the [new] designation.” 

Tuesday’s news is just the latest clash between the political opponents. In a Twitter thread two weeks ago, Campos called out Haney’s record as Supervisor for the Tenderloin District. “If you have done so much to help the Tenderloin while in office, why are 2 people dying per day under your watch?” Campos wrote.

Here’s what else happened last week…

• 🍎 On Friday, the SFUSD updated its mask policy. Starting March 12, middle school and high school students will no longer be required to wear masks in the classroom. On April 2, the requirement will drop in elementary schools as well. (SFUSD) 
• 🤳 In 2021, tourists spent $3.1 billion in San Francisco, according to figures released by the San Francisco Travel Association on Wednesday. That number was up slightly from the $2.8 billion visitors spent in 2020, but still much lower than $10.3 billion spent in 2019. (SF Business Times) 
• 🚓 Mayor Breed withdrew her request for $8 million to pay for police overtime because the extra funding was not needed after 30 officers left the department in January. “The problem was solved by a much bigger problem,” SFPD spokesperson Matt Dorsey told the Chronicle. (Chronicle) 
• 😞 A 23-year-old teacher at Mission Preparatory School died Wednesday morning after being hit by a semi-truck while riding his motorized scooter. The incident took place near Harrison and 22nd Street. (Mission Local) 
• 🎒 The San Francisco school board approved a plan on Tuesday to lay off nearly 300 staff members, including 151 teachers, counselors, and social workers. The proposed cuts come as the district has lost some 9,000 students since 2014. (Chronicle / CBS Bay Area) 
• 🚴‍♀️ The SFMTA said Tuesday that it will rejuvenate (and complete!) its protected bike lane project on Valencia Street this year. (Twitter / SF Standard) 
• 🛥 San Francisco’s newest ferry service, which runs between Treasure Island and the Ferry Building, started on Tuesday. One-way tickets cost $5 and rides take around 10 minutes. (SF Standard) 

That’s all for this week, see you next week for another update on all things SF. And remember, if you want quick, local news bits like this delivered right to you each weekday, click here to sign up for The SF Minute. It’s free!

– Natalie