{"id":2329427,"date":"2024-08-22T18:04:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T22:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-tale-of-two-san-franciscos-harriss-big-night-puts-citys-problems-in-spotlight-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-22T18:09:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T22:09:42","slug":"a-tale-of-two-san-franciscos-harriss-big-night-puts-citys-problems-in-spotlight-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-tale-of-two-san-franciscos-harriss-big-night-puts-citys-problems-in-spotlight-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"A tale of two San Franciscos: Harris\u2019s big night puts city\u2019s problems in spotlight &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fa-tale-of-two-san-franciscos-harriss-big-night-puts-citys-problems-in-spotlight-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2329427&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the \u2062stark contrast of San Francisco&#8217;s image as Vice President\u200c Kamala Harris prepares to accept \u2064her nomination at the Democratic National Convention. While Harris, \u2064along with California Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, attempts to highlight the city&#8217;s positive aspects and technological advancement, the reality is overshadowed by serious issues such as homelessness, rising crime, and vacant commercial\u2064 spaces following the pandemic. Critics argue that these problems\u2064 have significantly undermined the city\u2019s appeal, with \u2063many\u200b businesses closing \u200dor leaving due to safety concerns.\u2062 Breed aims to counteract negative perceptions \u200dpropagated by former President Donald Trump and others, emphasizing a narrative of resilience and progress. However, many residents are confronted with visible signs of decline, leading to a growing sense of despair \u2064about San Francisco&#8217;s future and a \u200cfeeling that this \u2063downturn is \u200dunprecedented compared to past economic challenges. The article paints a complex picture of a city\u200d struggling to\u200c reconcile its historic identity \u2062with current realities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">A tale of two San Franciscos: Harris&rsquo;s big night puts city&rsquo;s problems in spotlight<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1736071\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"San Francisco\">Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a> takes the stage to accept the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-national-convention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Vice President Kamala Harris\">Democratic nomination<\/a> Thursday night, she is expected&nbsp;to give a nod to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/san-francisco\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"San Francisco\">San Francisco<\/a>, a place where she built her political career as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/radical-cultural-change-coming-to-america\/\" title=\"Radical Cultural Change Coming to America?\">district attorney<\/a> in the early 2000s.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Gov. Gavin Newsom \">Gov. Gavin Newsom <\/a>(D-CA) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/london-breed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"San Francisco Mayor London Breed\">San Francisco Mayor London Breed<\/a> sang its&nbsp;praises at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, trying to reimagine the perception people have of California&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-n-peacekeepers-killed-in-central-african-republic-before-election\/\" title=\"U.N. peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic before election\">fourth-largest city<\/a>. They&rsquo;ve pushed back on the narrative that San Francisco has devolved into a haven for the homeless, addicts, and the mentally ill.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Francisco Mayor London Breed attends the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Gabrielle Lurie\/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Breed hosted a party at the Tao restaurant and club this week, funded by cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We all know Trump is going to try to use the &lsquo;San Francisco dystopian doom loop, poop-all-over-the-streets&rsquo; nonsense, right?&rdquo; Larsen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/politics\/joegarofoli\/article\/dnc-san-francisco-bash-19666567.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"told\">told<\/a> the <em>San Francisco Chronicle<\/em>. &ldquo;So we think this is even more important now. It&rsquo;s good for Kamala&rsquo;s campaigns, good for San Francisco and kind of a continuation of trying to set the record straight.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The party was called &ldquo;San Francisco Speaks: A Night of Technology and Truth,&rdquo; and Breed took the stage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Tonight is really a time to talk about not just Kamala Harris, but to talk about everything that San Francisco represents,&rdquo; she told the audience. &ldquo;It is so critical that we talk about the truth about San Francisco because the Republicans are trying to turn San Francisco into something it is not. They&rsquo;re trying to turn San Francisco into a bad word.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is seen at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Breed, who is facing a tough reelection in November and has been slammed by her opponents for the city&rsquo;s crime, drugs, and homelessness problem, went on to talk about how crime is down and how San Francisco is in the midst of a &ldquo;renaissance.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re the AI capital of the world&nbsp;&mdash; because I said so,&rdquo; she joked.&nbsp;&ldquo;So don&rsquo;t let somebody else tell the story of San Francisco. We&rsquo;re here tonight to fight for not just our city but to fight for Kamala Harris to be president of the United States.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"former President Donald Trump\">former President Donald Trump<\/a> and his supporters have tried to tie Harris to the city&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/san-francisco-mayor-sees-uptick-in-polling-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"San Francisco mayor sees uptick in polling - Washington Examiner\">doom loop&#038;rdquo<\/a>; narrative, one look&nbsp;at the hollowed-out downtown area, the Financial District, or the infamous Tenderloin district shows they aren&rsquo;t off base.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco&rsquo;s unraveling was put into sharp focus as the pandemic receded.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A quarter of the offices downtown are vacant, overdose deaths surged, and reports of retail and personal property theft spiked. People and businesses like Macy&rsquo;s, Nordstrom, L&rsquo;Occitane, Christian Louboutin, and The North Face have either packed up and left or are in the process.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Retail spaces for lease are seen near Union Square in San Francisco, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo\/Eric Risberg)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Last year, the owner of Gump&rsquo;s, an upscale retailer that opened its doors in the 1860s and sells high-end gifts, clothing, and jewelry, sent an open letter to the city threatening to close.<\/p>\n<p>The letter was in response to &ldquo;a litany of destructive San Francisco strategies, including allowing the homeless to occupy our sidewalks, to openly distribute and use illegal drugs, to harass the public, and to defile the city&rsquo;s streets.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some argue that&nbsp;San Francisco has experienced slumps before (most notably in the 1970s and 1980s when it saw a wave of crime and drug use) but bounced back.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This time feels different.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Other cities like Los Angeles and New York made pandemic recoveries relatively quick. San Francisco did not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The pandemic and fentanyl collided,&rdquo; Lydia Bransten, the executive director of the Gubbio Project, which offers coffee, health services, and a safe place to nap to a hundred homeless people a day, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2023\/10\/23\/what-happened-to-san-francisco-really\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"told \">told <\/a>the<em>&nbsp;New Yorker<\/em>. &ldquo;People in the throes of addiction were hanging out with other people in the throes of addiction without the rest of the community. Then the city reopened, and housed people coming out of their homes were confronted with this scene of absolute devastation. And they&rsquo;re flabbergasted: &lsquo;How could this happen? We&rsquo;ve spent all this money!&rsquo;&nbsp;&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Today, San Francisco is a sad&nbsp;ode to the city&rsquo;s struggles.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s littered with battered, painted-over, and boarded-up buildings that used to be architectural&nbsp;marvels.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One such sight sits at 675 California St. and was nicknamed the &ldquo;jewel box.&rdquo; The building had been described as an &ldquo;elegantly discreet rectangle&rdquo; that was an&nbsp;&ldquo;unexpected delight&rdquo; that gave the city its&nbsp;&ldquo;luster and depth.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our diminutive hero lines alley-thin Quincy Street directly across from grassy St. Mary&rsquo;s Park, so you get the wide view while trudging up California Street to Chinatown (assuming, of course, that you aren&rsquo;t staring intently at the sidewalk while panting for breath),&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/sf\/article\/downtown-chinatown-saddest-building-19659313.php?utm_content=hed&amp;sid=65d7568c6475f55df90fddaf&amp;ss=A&amp;st_rid=8dc08d31-83c2-44ce-b88f-2ae75b7346f4&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=headlines&amp;utm_campaign=sfc_morningfix\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"wrote \">wrote <\/a>John King, the <em>San Francisco Chronicle&rsquo;s<\/em> urban design critic. &ldquo;Old St. Mary&rsquo;s Church and its neo-Gothic clock tower stand across the street, with Chinatown&rsquo;s pagodas in the background. To the east, downhill, Financial District towers jut into the sky. All this makes for the type of structural collage you can only find in cities with an incandescent history &mdash; which makes today&rsquo;s dark reality all the more bleak.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Like so many others in San Francisco, the&nbsp;4,000-square-foot A.E. Waegeman&nbsp;design has&nbsp;fallen by the wayside.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The architecture is so spectacular, such a little jewel box, and the juxtapositions with everything around it are so great,&rdquo; Stacy Williams, executive director of the American Institute of Architects&rsquo;s local chapter, said. &ldquo;Instead, it&rsquo;s in such disrepair, it breaks my heart.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>King doesn&rsquo;t think San Francisco is &ldquo;doomed&rdquo; for&nbsp;life and said he&rsquo;s hopeful for an eventual turnaround.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\" \"> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But the scars you see on a casual walk through Union Square or down Market Street are real, too,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Just how long it will take San Francisco to recover remains unknown.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1736071\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1736071\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A story of two San Franciscos: Harris&#8217;s significant evening highlights the city&#8217;s challenges. As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to accept the Democratic nomination on Thursday night, she is anticipated to acknowledge San Francisco, where she launched her political career as district attorney in the early 2000s. Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed praised the city at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, aiming to reshape its image amid perceptions of it being a refuge for homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. <\/p>\n<p>During a party hosted by Breed at Tao restaurant and club\u2014backed by cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen\u2014Larsen remarked on how former President Trump would likely exploit negative narratives about San Francisco. He emphasized that this event was crucial for both Harris&#8217;s campaign and for correcting misconceptions about the city. The gathering was titled &#8220;San Francisco Speaks: A Night of Technology and Truth,&#8221; where Breed addressed attendees about representing not just Harris but also what San Francisco stands for.<\/p>\n<p>Breed highlighted that it&#8217;s essential to counter Republican efforts to tarnish San Francisco&#8217;s reputation while asserting that crime rates are down and claiming that the city is experiencing a &#8220;renaissance.&#8221; She humorously declared it as &#8220;the AI capital of the world&#8221; while urging attendees not to let others define their narrative.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these optimistic claims from local leaders, critics point out visible signs of decline in areas like downtown and Tenderloin as they grapple with rising vacancy rates in offices, increased overdose deaths, and retail thefts. Many businesses have either closed or are planning to leave due to ongoing issues related to homelessness and drug use.<\/p>\n<p>While some argue that past downturns have been overcome before\u2014like those seen in previous decades\u2014the current situation feels different compared with quicker recoveries experienced by cities like Los Angeles or New York post-pandemic. Experts note how addiction issues intensified during isolation periods caused by COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s landscape reflects deep struggles within San Francisco; many once-beautiful buildings now stand neglected or boarded up. One such building known as \u201cthe jewel box\u201d has fallen into disrepair despite its architectural significance\u2014a sentiment echoed by local architects who lament over its condition.<\/p>\n<p>Although there is hope among some observers for eventual recovery from these challenges, they acknowledge that visible scars remain throughout key areas like Union Square or Market Street\u2014and it remains uncertain how long it will take for true revitalization efforts to bear fruit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2329428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/londonbreeddnc.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[38998,4021,5894,32422,16758],"class_list":["post-2329427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-city-issues","tag-harris","tag-politics","tag-san-francisco","tag-spotlight"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/londonbreeddnc.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2329428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}