San Francisco's permitting maze now takes six months and fees across four agencies just to legally serve wine — while stolen bottles trade openly two blocks from City Hall. Richmond, meanwhile, just voted to reinstate the Flock cameras its police chief shut down last fall, after car thefts jumped 33% and the immigrant shopkeepers the policy was meant to protect led the charge to bring them back. Across both cities, the pattern is the same: maximum friction for the law-abiding, minimum consequence for everyone else.
SF makes restaurant owners navigate four agencies and wait six months to serve wine legally. Two blocks away, stolen bottles trade with impunity.
Car thefts jumped 33% after Richmond killed its Flock cameras. The people begging to bring them back were immigrant shopkeepers.
The city disabled its license plate readers to virtue signal national issues. Immigrant shopkeepers are paying the price.
California Forever just brokered the largest construction labor agreement in American history. YIMBY is winning.
The city charges property owners $362+ if graffiti isn't removed in 30 days—while taggers walk free.
San Francisco Centre's last tenants get evicted while the Chronicle pretends shoplifting and drug use had nothing to do with it.