Heather Knight
@hknightsf
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San Francisco bureau chief for the New York Times; former columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and co-host of #TotalSF podcast; proud to call SF home
Joined March 2009
My latest: In May, Laurie Steves ripped up her life outside Seattle and moved to San Francisco to try to save her daughter, Jessica, who's homeless in the Tenderloin and addicted to fentanyl. @gabriellelurie and I have followed their story ever since.
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BREAKING: Bye, single family zoning in California. Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB9, making duplexes legal on any lot zoned for one house statewide. He also signed SB10 making it easier for cities to approve small apartment buildings in single family neighborhoods.
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Powerful image of the protest in Santa Cruz this morning. Mayor Justin Cummings and Police Chief Andrew Mills took a knee in solidarity. (š·: Shmuel Thaler.)
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The SF school board tonight spent two hours talking about whether to allow a gay dad of mixed-race SFUSD kids to volunteer for one of several empty seats on a parent advisory group. Their problem was that heās white and doesnāt bring diversity to the group. 1/2.
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BREAKING: New numbers from the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office show 468 people -- about two every day -- died of a drug overdose in the first eight months of this year. That's four times as many people as have died from #COVID19 in San Francisco.
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Do you know a couple who got engaged late afternoon today at Sutro Baths? Photographer Denise Cotton took this magical photo (look at the heart in the rock!) and would like to give it to the happy pair. #TotalSF
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SCOOP! My latest: Gavin Newsom wasn't the only one to attend a fancy birthday dinner at the French Laundry last month. San Francisco Mayor London Breed joined a socialite's dinner there the next night -- and banned indoor dining in SF three days later.
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Wow. The @sfchronicle is calling the race to recall Brock Turner sentencing Judge Aaron Persky. He is the first California judge to be recalled since 1932.
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They didnāt appoint him, and now the parent group remains all moms which means women must do all the work of the group. And seven hours after the meeting started, they still arenāt talking about how to safely reopen schools.
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I told my dad, whoās over 65, to call Kaiser and find out how to get the vaccine now that @GavinNewsom has expanded the pool to include seniors. He was on hold for an hour and gave up. We need more clarity and a way for people to sign up. This is urgent.
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My latest: A 7-month-old baby is dead, and the man charged with his murder was arrested twice this year for felony domestic violence ā and released. District Attorney Chesa Boudin dismissed 113 of 131 felony DV cases last fall, and advocates are alarmed.
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My latest: Jeffrey Choate was trained in prison to fight fires, but now that heās been released, heās not allowed to become a firefighter because of his criminal record. Even as wildfires rage in his home state. Itās a ridiculous Catch-22 that must end.
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Bay Area Hall of Fame tweet right here.
Steve Mazzari, a 6-year Bay Area resident says he was "slammin' 'Dollaritas'" at the Fisherman's Wharf Applebee's when a magnitude 3.7 #earthquake, epicentered near Millbrae, struck.
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A very rare sighting of San Francisco streetcar No. 578, built in 1896 and believed to be the worldās oldest streetcar still in operation. #TotalSF
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My latest: A gay dad wanted to volunteer for a parent group comprised of 10 straight women, but wasnāt approved because heās white and wouldnāt bring enough diversity. An episode of āPortlandiaā? No, just another Tuesday at the San Francisco school board.
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Thrilled - with more than a twinge of sadness - to announce I'm leaving the @sfchronicle to become the @nytimes' San Francisco bureau chief. I'll be the Times' lead writer covering San Francisco and Northern California starting in September. Can't wait!.
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Good news! Just confirmed with the mayor's office it is OK under the shut down order to drive to hiking trails, beaches, etc., to walk and get fresh air. You don't have to just walk around your neighborhood. Also, bicycling for exercise is fine under the order. #coronavirus.
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BREAKING: San Francisco school board vp Alison Collins is under fire for racist tweets targeting Asian Americans and their "white supremacist thinking to assimilate and get ahead." . A third of students in SF public schools are Asian. Via @jilltucker.
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A whale was swimming at Baker Beach this morning which Iām taking as a good omen for 2022. Happy New Year, San Francisco! š³ā¤ļø
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BREAKING: Some restrictions on the Bay Area's shelter-in-place rules will be lifted on Monday. Approved activities include all construction, plant nurseries, flea markets, car washes, sunbathing in parks, fishing, skateboard parks and golf.
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Pretty incredible that the second and third most powerful people in our countryās government are women from the Bay Area. šŖš»šŖš»šŖš».
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San Francisco will end its boycott on doing business with companies in 30 states -- and traveling to those states -- after studies showed the restrictions made business costlier here and did nothing to change conservative laws elsewhere. By @thejdmorris.
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A year ago today, the sun never came up in San Francisco. The skies remained dark orange all day, a scary sign of climate change in an already apocalyptic year. Remembering Orange Sky Day on this anniversary and hoping our leaders act more strongly to address our #ClimateCrisis.
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Look at the horror that happens when an apartment building sits next to single family homes. š
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Kudos to all the San Franciscans adopting storm drains through the @MySFPUC program to keep them clear. Special props to those whoāve cleverly named their drains things like Purple Drain, Drain on Me, Stormy Drainwells and the Mohammed Nuru Memorial Sewer. #BombCyclone
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BREAKING: San Francisco Mayor London Breed says announcement is coming today requiring everybody, vaccinated or not, to wear face masks indoors. The order comes due to concerns about the growing delta variant.
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The @sfchronicle has called it: Prop. I loses! That means it doesnāt really matter whether J continues to post winning numbers. JFK Promenade will remain car-free! šš.
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Shell Ridge Open Space Preserve in Walnut Creek is popping with poppies.
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My column on @LondonBreed winning the election for #SanFrancisco mayor. She becomes the city's first woman of color to win the seat and just its second woman mayor ever. Of the country's 15 biggest cities, all have male mayors -- until now.
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Merry Christmas Eve! Now that Tom and Jerryās famously decorated house in Noe Valley has gone dark, whatās the most decked out holiday house in San Francisco? Iām nominating this one on Castro Street. #TotalSF
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My latest: Yoko and Clint Tan wanted to turn their wildly popular Noodle in a Haystack ramen pop-up into a San Francisco restaurant ā but now theyāve spent $100,000, endured a permitting nightmare and still have no opening date. They regret ever trying.
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In the not-everything-is-terrible category: Look who was born under my sisterās deck in Marin yesterday.
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My latest column: San Francisco politicians will gather in Noe Valley Town Square today to hail a long-awaited public bathroom. But why does one toilet cost $1.7 million ā and why wonāt it be ready until 2025? It symbolizes the worst of SF government.
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February doesnāt look like this in most places. Get outside!āļø
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Just got my first lecture about how I *shouldnāt* be wearing a mask at the grocery store. From the only guy I saw in the whole building not wearing one. How about we not comment on other peopleās masking decisions one way or the other?.
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My latest: Why does San Francisco have a profession called āpermit expeditorā? Why has the Department of Building Inspection been caught up in City Hallās corruption scandal? Why does it take so freaking long to get a building permit? Read on for answers!
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Some days it seems like Bay Area residents live in a painting.
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Woke up this morning at the Kirby Cove campsite to see kayakers, sea lions, sailboats, birds andā¦.a tightrope walker?! Damn, I love the Bay Area. #TotalSF
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Latest rendition of the Bernal Heights rock. šŗš¦šŗš¦šŗš¦
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My latest column: San Franciscans share more stories about police shrugging off crime, even as it happens in front of them. Of all crimes reported in 2021, police made arrests in just 8.1%, the lowest rate in a decade. āThey didnāt want to be bothered.ā
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Happy Thanksgiving, San Francisco! Grateful for this beautiful day.
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My latest: San Francisco school board member Alison Collins sued her colleagues for $87 million for damage to her career, but three people in the school district told me she cost them their jobs. āShe ruined my life,ā said her daughtersā former principal.
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My latest: Iāve been a member of the de Young Museum for several years, but wonāt renew because of its lobbying of city officials to bring cars back to car-free JFK Drive. In a new city survey, 70.4% support the road closure, but itās far from a done deal.
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My latest: San Francisco has a reputation for being progressive, but itās among the worldās most conservative cities when it comes to making change on transit, housing and other issues. So said Jeffrey Tumlin, Muniās chief, in an interview, and heās right.
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San Francisco police seem to have almost entirely abandoned enforcement of traffic laws. In April, the most recent data available, the dept issued 338 tickets for traffic violations. By comparison, in April 2014, the year Vision Zero began, the department issued 11,612 tickets.
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My latest column: The Saleh family fled war-torn Yemen seeking peace and prosperity in San Francisco. They've found neither living a tiny, pricey studio at Turk and Hyde in the Tenderloin with misery on the streets outside. This time, they see no way out.
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My latest: Remember Jason Yu and his nightmare trying to open an ice cream shop in the Mission? After nearly two years and $200,000, heās given up. Meanwhile, Prop. H, passed in November, has led to just two small business hopefuls getting permits to open.
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My latest: Poll numbers show three members of the San Francisco school board would likely be ousted by voters if a recall attempt qualifies for the ballot. Parents of SFUSD kids are even more likely than voters at large to support a recall ā 69% vs. 60%.
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A 15-year-old black boy is shot and killed in the Mission and people complain about a headline calling him a child. Not about, you know, a 15-year-old being shot and killed in the Mission. Great, thought-provoking read from the talented @EskSF.
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BREAKING: San Francisco Elections Department has announced the recall of three school board members ā Gabriela Lopez, Alison Collins and Faauuga Moliga ā has qualified for the ballot. Election set for February 15. Vote to fill assessor-recorder position will be on same ballot.
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BREAKING: San Francisco is mandating face masks as of midnight tonight. This applies to people running errands and riding transit, but not for exercise or driving your car. It does not apply to children 12 and younger.
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San Francisco, letās do this too!.
BREAKING: Seattle will permanently close 20 miles of existing "Stay Healthy" streets to most vehicle traffic to create more space for people walking, even after the pandemic ends.
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My latest: A major Northern California city just approved allowing four units on any parcel now slated for one house. Thatās a progressive, visionary move to tackle our housing crisis ā so of course it wasnāt San Francisco. Will SF follow suit? Unlikely.
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My last column:. A tribute to newspaper readers and one in particular. My dad, John Knight, died Sunday night after reading the San Francisco Chronicle for 70 years. He was thrilled to see my byline for 24 of them. Will miss him and the Chronicle so much.
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Happy 415 day! šāØ. The day honors San Franciscoās area code and the date the city was incorporated back in 1850. Looking good at age 174!
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āSomething is broken if we treat a small, family owned Mexican restaurant the same way as a Starbucks or a McDonalds.ā Yep. San Francisco has outdone itself with this one. ššÆ.
JUST IN: El Farolito, the iconic San Francisco-born string of taquerias, cannot open a new location in North Beach under the cityās ban on chains, the city said Thursday.
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My latest: Why does supposedly environmentally conscious San Francisco allow one person to freeze the eco-friendly projects we desperately need? Slow Streets, special bus lanes and more are on hold because two people donāt like them. What a dumb process.
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BREAKING: San Francisco to lift indoor mask mandate October 15 in venues with groups of 100 or fewer fully vaccinated people who meet regularly. That includes gyms, offices, religious gatherings and college classrooms. Masking still required in stores and restaurants.
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April 15 means itās 415 day ā the anniversary of the day San Francisco became a municipality. Happy 171st birthday, San Francisco! #TotalSF
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My pandemic hobby is going for walks and taking glamour shots of San Francisco. Mile Rock Beach is a great place to do it. #TotalSF
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My latest column: Two San Francisco roommates called police about a man sawing a catalytic converter off a car. Cops arrived, learned the man was on probation for a previous theft and let him walk away. What is the SFPD doing? Too often, itās not much.
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My latest: Jason Yuās dream of opening an ice cream shop in the Mission is melting. Heās sunk $150,000 and 16 months into the effort with nothing to show for it. And this is normal in San Francisco which makes opening a small business crazily difficult.
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First week as the San Francisco bureau chief for the New York Times is off to a great start! Iāll be back in San Francisco next week reporting ā send me your tips, scoops and story ideas. š°šļø. New email: heather.knight@nytimes.com
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Itās crazy 3,055 people in the United States died yesterday of #COVID19 ā more than in the 9/11 terror attacks ā and weāre just shrugging. Also why did everybody agree to remove their shoes at the airport after that to protect each other but people still wonāt wear a mask now?.
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BREAKING: Anybody visiting San Francisco from outside the Bay Area or returning to the city after travel must quarantine for 10 days under new health order. Non-essential travel of any kind and of any distance is strongly discouraged per Mayor Breed and Dr. Colfax.
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"A city that prioritizes āappearanceā and ācharacterā over comfort, cost savings and climate is conservative, not progressive.". Writing a column about San Francisco's window frame rules was always on my to-do list. Glad it got done!.
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š” SCOOP! š”. My latest: San Francisco Supervisor @RafaelMandelman on Tuesday will propose making it legal to build four-plexes on any corner lot in the city and on any parcel slated for one house within a half-mile of a major transit station.
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My latest: Kids from the Tenderloin went to San Francisco City Hall to hand a letter to Mayor Breed demanding help for their neighborhood. Gun violence there has spiked this year, and open-air drug dealing is rampant. āYou have failed us,ā the letter said.
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My latest: San Francisco supervisors say theyāre pro-housing, but are they? A group of local YIMBY members is examining the voting records of each one, starting with Dean Preston who they say is āthe worst offenderā on opposing much-needed housing.
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Coronavirus cases are surging yet again, and Costco in San Francisco is out of toilet paper yet again. Apparently we have learned nothing in the past eight months.
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#CarrFire: Scorched land 2 1/2 times the size of San Francisco. Fire tornadoes. 37,000 people evacuated. Kids and their great-grandma missing. 105 degree weather expected today. When will our leaders start taking climate change seriously?
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Itās a gorgeous day in San Francisco!. (And thereās a distinct red and gold color scheme at Baker Beach. Go Niners!)
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For all those who say one vote doesnāt matterā¦the race for San Franciscoās District 1 supervisor is exactly tied.
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BREAKING: San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces 70 people at the city's largest shelter, MSC South, have tested positive for Covid-19. She called it an outbreak.
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My latest column: In a city rife with housing failures, this is eye-popping. San Francisco supervisors paused the rezoning of land to allow 1,000+ new units for six months for a study. Two years later, the study was never done, wasting time for nothing.
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