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Mission Local •

Ousted S.F. school principal rips district at Bayview graduation ceremony

Vidrale Franklin, the former longtime principal of Dr. Charles R. Drew College Preparatory Academy, used last Monday’s graduation ceremony at the Bayview elementary school to openly challenge the school district for forcing her to resign after a lengthy investigation into how she managed school funds. 

“The world needs to know how you don’t value us, how you under-resource us,” she said in reference to the district.
El Tecolote •

ICE enforcement escalates after Minneapolis killing, sparks SF protests

Anti-ICE protests marked the beginning of 2026, with hundreds of San Francisco residents joining demonstrations after Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on the morning of Jan. 7.

Good, a 37-year-old mother, spouse and poet, was idling in her car at the scene of a targeted ICE operation when agents instructed her to move her vehicle. Authorities and witnesses have offered conflicting accounts of her role at the scene, with some reports describing her as a...
Mission Local •

First adult LGBTQ shelter in U.S., Jazzie's Place, to nearly triple in size

After 10 years, the first queer-only adult homeless shelter in the United States (and the only LGBTQ-only shelter in San Francisco) is expanding to take over most of the second floor of its building at 1050 South Van Ness Ave.

Jazzie’s Place, which opened in 2015 at the Mission District site with 28 beds, is believed to have become the first shelter exclusively for LGBTQ+ adults in the country, according to its founders.

The expansion, which concluded on Aug. 27, includes a dorm with 44 beds,...
El Tecolote •

ICE tactics escalate in SF as protesters clash with officers

Federal officers escalated their use of force Wednesday morning as about 30 protesters clashed with Department of Homeland Security and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers outside the San Francisco immigration courthouse, following alleged detentions after court hearings.

While witnesses on the scene initially reported as many as nine people being detained as they left or entered immigration hearings, the SF Rapid Response Network later confirmed only one arrest of an immigrant at...
El Tecolote •

SF budget passes, RV ban approved: How new policies impact Latinos

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a sweeping set of ordinances on Tuesday, finalizing the city’s $15.9 billion budget for the next two fiscal years. While Supervisor Connie Chan, chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, described the result as a “balanced proposal” that protects housing investments, advocates say the measures will deepen hardship for low-income and immigrant communities.

Among the changes: controversial restrictions on RV parking; fee increases that could b...
El Tecolote •

ICE arrests four at SF courthouse, sparking outcry from advocates

Four people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside San Francisco’s immigration court on Tuesday — a rare tactic Bay Area immigrant rights groups say marks an alarming escalation in local enforcement.

The arrests, believed to be the first of their kind at the 100 Montgomery Street courthouse, sparked swift condemnation from a coalition of immigrant and human rights organizations. The following morning, dozens gathered outside the courthouse to denounce what the...
Mission Local •

SFUSD rescinds 151 staff layoffs in stunning reversal

A version of this story was first published on El Tecolote. In a last-minute and somewhat shocking reversal of a budget-cutting measure, the San Francisco Unified School District reversed the impending layoffs of 34 school counselors and 117 paraeducators — instructional aides, student and family resource personnel, security aides, and other staffing personnel. The district employees had received preliminary termination notices in late February and March in a cost-cutting bid to cover the SFUSD’...
El Tecolote •

ICE eyes takeover FCI Dublin despite toxic conditions

All signs point to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) preparing to take over a shuttered Bay Area women’s prison to house immigrant detainees — despite toxic living conditions and a documented history of abuse.

Federal Correctional Institution Dublin (FCI Dublin), located an hour from San Francisco, was closed in April 2024 following lawsuits, whistleblower reports and inspections that revealed rampant sexual violence, mold, asbestos and sewage leaks. The prison was so notorious that it...
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