SAN FRANCISCO — Opponents of the Upper Great Highway closure submitted 15,626 signatures to the Department of Elections on July 6 aiming to qualify for a local ballot measure in the upcoming November election. Organizers of the petitions are strongly confident that citywide voters will have an opportunity to vote on the fate of the Great Highway again.

SAN FRANCISCO — After Mayor Daniel Lurie and city officials gathered on June 9 for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the $73 million two-year renovation of Portsmouth Square park and the removal of the pedestrian bridge spanning Kearny Street, opposition to demolishing the 56-year-old pedestrian bridge has grown louder. One of those voices belongs to 93-year-old Dartmond Cherk, a Chinese American architect who designed both the hotel and the bridge in 1965.

When walking down Irving Street near 19th Avenue, you will instantly find that it is full of life. Seniors spending mornings in Uncle Benny's, toddlers going on rope walks with their daycare, teens shopping at boba shops, and shoppers looking for a bargain at multiple grocery stores. It is a reminder that the Sunset’s identity as a place for families, is built into its DNA.

SAN FRANCISCO — City agencies led by the Department of Public Works announced temporary street closures, traffic and transit changes for the construction of three renovation projects in Chinatown: the Chinatown Public Health Center, the Chinatown Branch Library, Portsmouth Square, and the demolition of the pedestrian bridge connected to the Hilton Hotel.

SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Daniel Lurie joined the nonprofit San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation (SFDDC) to launch a $25 million Downtown Business Fund. This fund offers grants, loans and professional support to entrepreneurs interested in filling vacant storefronts to revitalize downtown San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO — Two bilingual and community-minded Chinese American police officers, Carla Lee Hurley and Kirk Yin, have been recently promoted to the rank of Captain in the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), serving as Southern Station Captain and Night Captain respectively. Lee Hurley becomes the highest-ranking Chinese and Asian American woman police officer currently in the department. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Thirty Family Child Care centers in San Francisco are on a list to receive advanced heat-pump water heaters for free under a childcare electrification pilot program aimed to improve air quality of the environment where the youngest generation grows.

SAN FRANCISCO — Recent data indicates a significant surge in influenza (flu) cases this season and continues to rise nationwide with test positivity reaching high levels in the San Francisco Bay Area and very high levels in Central California. Healthcare experts have recommended that everyone aged 6 months and older receives the flu vaccines every year. 

SAN FRANCISCO — With the continued support from generous donors and volunteers, the Chinese Newcomers Service Center held its long-standing traditional food drive on June 5 in Chinatown.