More Teachers, More Books
Mission Bay Elementary will open in August 2026, according to the San Francisco Unified School District, the district’s first new school in 20 years. Construction of the 1415 Owens Street campus should be completed by January. The institute will principally serve families living in South-of-Market, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch and Mission Bay. In its first year it’ll host pre-kindergarten, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classes, as well as a combined kindergarten-transitional kindergarten for students with disabilities, offering pre-K through fifth grade by 2032. Students will ultimately feed into Everett or Francisco middle schools. The school, which cost roughly $129 million to develop, was approved by voters through Proposition A, a 2016 $744 million bond measure. The 2.5-acre campus features a 79,000-square-foot building with a four-story classroom wing that leads to a single-story multipurpose room.
And More Sales Tax Revenue
Retail spending in most of San Francisco remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, driven down by the loss of at least 30,000 residents and with roughly 20 percent of work done at home. In Mission Bay, however, sales tax revenue jumped by 31 percent during the first half of 2025, even adjusted for inflation. The neighborhood has experienced a steady increase in population, substantial employment growth, as well as the emergence of new eateries to feed those workers and visitors to Chase Center and the University of San Francisco, Mission Bay health care facilities, among other places.
Yard Becomes Feet
Facing a $307 million budget shortfall, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is abandoning a plan to build 465 housing units at its 2500 Mariposa Street Muni yard, narrowing its focus to constructing a modern bus storage and maintenance facility. Under the new scheme about 100 affordable apartments would be developed on a parcel on the property’s Bryant Street side. “Rebuilding this century-old yard is essential to improving Muni’s reliability and providing safe conditions for our staff,” said SFMTA’s Sean Kennedy, who was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle. “If we don’t take significant steps to make this project possible, we’ll lose this once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize critical transit infrastructure.” Muni is hoping to construct the revised project for roughly $560 million, paid for by capital sources and its operating budget.
Supes Up
Last month, Theo Ellington, a third-generation San Franciscan, Bayview native and Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House’s executive director, announced that he’s running for the District 10 Board of Supervisors seat in the November 2026 election. Ellington’s campaign was endorsed by State Senator Scott Wiener, former Mayor London Breed, Supervisors Stephen Sherill, Danny Sauter, and Matt Dorsey. “Our neighborhoods must receive the same focus, urgency, and investment as the rest of San Francisco,” Theo Ellington stated in a press release. “We must be a place where families can afford to live, feel safe, and thrive for generations to come.” Ellington was raised by a single mom who worked as a Candlestick Park concessionaire at San Francisco Giants and 49ers games. He attended public schools and was the first in his family to graduate college. “The challenges we face today aren’t theoretical. I’ve lived them,” stated Ellington. He and his wife, Seray, a registered nurse, are raising their three boys less than two miles from where he grew up.
AI Likes Potrero Hill
The Green Benefit District has hired Donovan Lacy as its executive director. Lacy previously worked in telecommunications, and served as the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association’s vice president, Potrero Boosters secretary, and Dogpatch Hub board member…Abridge — an artificial intelligence startup that converts conversations between doctors and patients into clinical notes — is leasing 208 Utah Street. Redco Development purchased the 80,000-square-foot building, previously occupied by Strava and Warner Bros., from the Shorenstein family several months ago for $15 million. Abridge presently inhabits roughly 14,000 square feet at 450 Alabama Street. The company was founded in 2018 and has a roughly $5.3 billion valuation.
Proposition War
Proposition 50 would circumvent California’s previous policy to eliminate gerrymandering, reinforce one party rule in the state, and dampen democracy in the redistricted Northern California rural counties. The View recommends a “yes” vote on it. The United States is anything but, with Missouri and Texas remapping their Congressional districts in an attempt to secure sufficient seats for the Republican Party to maintain control over the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 elections. The Trump Administration is dispatching National Guard troops to cities and states in which the Democratic Party is dominate, in a “law and order” campaign that seems equally a preparation for more sinister military action. Like a bad marriage, “Red” and “Blue” states have fundamental disagreements about reproductive and civil rights, how to properly calibrate health and welfare “safety nets,” and proper respect for the rule of law. Hopefully this too shall pass or at least calm down into a modicum of civility. In the meantime, don’t bring a spoon to a knife fight. Vote yes on Proposition 50.