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esksf.bsky.social
Joe Eskenazi
@esksf.bsky.social
900 followers 97 following 28 posts
Editor + columnist
@missionlocal.org


http://joinsubtext.com/joe

missionlocal.org/author/joee/

Joe.Eskenazi AT MissionLocal DOT com

2019
SPJ NorCal
journalist of the year

"Made it Ma! Top of the world!"
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
akrazia.bsky.social
“I do feel bad for her. I think I will continue to feel bad for her,” she said. “But I did the right thing. People deserve to know the truth and that the mayor is not doing his job. This was a really big decision for him, and he just messed it up really bad.”

missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-s...
Sunset pet store owner tried repeatedly to warn Mayor Lurie on District 4 pick
Julia Baran, who took over a pet store from District 4 pick Beya Alcaraz, had called the mayor's office twice before sharing damaging videos.
missionlocal.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
With since-resigned Supervisor Alcaraz, the mayor's office failed to vet a candidate who literally had skeletons in her closet.

It was a major misstep for Daniel Lurie and a disservice to the political neophyte Alcaraz

Latest column from @esksf.bsky.social

missionlocal.org/2025/11/the-...
The making and unmaking of Beya Alcaraz: A strange and terrible saga
A near-total vetting failure by the mayor’s office put a political neophyte in an impossible position. It was a crucial misstep for Daniel Lurie.
missionlocal.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
Nancy Pelosi can be succeeded.

But she cannot be replaced.

Latest column from @esksf.bsky.social

missionlocal.org/2025/11/nanc...
Nancy Pelosi can be succeeded. She cannot be replaced.
The Speaker Emerita directed heaps of money back to San Francisco and used vast influence to elevate her city. Nobody can step in and replicate that.
missionlocal.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
lumagoo.bsky.social
"Every bargain with Trump and his gang is a Faustian bargain."

Great piece by @esksf.bsky.social on today's events (or non-events, as the case may be). Also, love the SNL suggestion!

missionlocal.org/2025/10/san-...
Billionaire CEO asked Trump to send Nat'l Guard to S.F., and multi-millionaire mayor helped talk him out of it
A billionaire tech CEO asked Trump to send the National Guard to San Francisco. Its millionaire mayor helped talk him out of it.
missionlocal.org
October 24, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
rmbodenheimer.bsky.social
"There are only so many turns of phrase you can employ: This is just a profoundly fucked-up way to lead a country. It’s like dealing with King George or a warlord out of the Dark Ages."
@esksf.bsky.social on Lurie's deal with the devil to keep nat'l guard out of SF
missionlocal.org/2025/10/san-...
Billionaire CEO asked Trump to send Nat'l Guard to S.F., and multi-millionaire mayor helped talk him out of it
A billionaire tech CEO asked Trump to send the National Guard to San Francisco. Its millionaire mayor helped talk him out of it.
missionlocal.org
October 24, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
San Francisco school principals are in a labor impasse. A strike is a real possibility.

Multiple principals say the district's superintendent threatened them with legal action prior to a planned labor rally.

And now? Now they're pissed.

From @esksf.bsky.social

missionlocal.org/2025/10/sfus...
SFUSD principals say superintendent threatened legal action
San Francisco educators and labor leaders bemoan ‘heavy-handed’ move during negotiating impasse as potential principal strike looms
missionlocal.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
The purported surge of ICE and Border Protection agents coming to the Bay Area are the worst fear of S.F. officials — even more so than the National Guard.

From @esksf.bsky.social

missionlocal.org/2025/10/san-...
Purported ICE surge to Bay Area is graver worry for S.F. than National Guard
Experts warn federal immigration agents have more latitude to be aggressive and destructive than troops — with fewer avenues for the city to push back
missionlocal.org
October 22, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
The 9th Circuit today greenlit Trump's National Guard deployment to Portland. Does this bode poorly for San Francisco?

Sure. But not in the manner you might think.

Also: The National Guard may not be the biggest worry

missionlocal.org/2025/10/nati...
Court lets Trump send National Guard to Portland. What about S.F.?
National Guard is just one of many concerns for San Francisco, which can do little to prevent an influx of ICE, CBP, DHS, DEA or FBI agents
missionlocal.org
October 21, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
San Francisco's transit agency wants to be exempted from state pollution rules.

You know what? It's a *great* idea.

Column from @esksf.bsky.social

missionlocal.org/2025/10/sfmt...
Muni wants exemption from CA pollution rules. It's a no-brainer.
SFMTA plans to beg relief from the state's zero-emissions mandate. It’d be crazy not to ask. It’d be crazier for the state to say no.
missionlocal.org
October 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
How much does Salesforce pay to San Francisco police officers?

Less than you'd think.

missionlocal.org/2025/10/sale...
How much does Salesforce pay to S.F. police? Less than you’d think.
Some local cops reject Marc Benioff's call for National Guardsmen, noting nobody orders SFPD to 'go grab Brown people’ or ‘go beat up hippies'
missionlocal.org
October 16, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
darakerr.bsky.social
"As unnerving and disheartening as SF’s overt misery and drug-use and mental instability can be, that’s not the same thing as crime. Reported SF crime, which was already low, is down nearly a third...
Subjectively, you may not feel safe in San Francisco. Objectively, you’ve rarely been safer."
October 15, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
Marc Benioff exposed himself as craven and hollow.

He's got company.

From @esksf.bsky.social

missionlocal.org/2025/10/marc...
Marc Benioff exposed himself as craven and hollow. He has company.
Salesforce CEO's inane call for siccing the National Guard on San Francisco is met with performative inanity
missionlocal.org
October 15, 2025 at 1:29 AM
esksf.bsky.social
The San Francisco Giants' season, damn it, ended last month. But the big lights were shining at 3 a.m. last Friday into Daniel Conrad's bedroom.

He's been complaining about this for years. But he hasn't gotten past first base.

missionlocal.org/2025/10/s-f-...
S.F. Giants' season is over. They left the lights on for us.
Despite lease restricting 'primary sports lights' after games, ballpark neighbors document bright stadium lights — sometimes all night
missionlocal.org
October 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
emmaruthless.bsky.social
but Emma, you might be asking, did you find a way to shoehorn in how annnoyed you still are about mandatory Grateful Dead Appreciation Month?
October 1, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
gilduran.com
San Francisco's tech billionaires weaponized recall elections against their opponents.

Now, the chickens come home to roost.

"This feels a bit like non-Western nations getting The Bomb. It will be interesting to see who gets blown up next." @esksf.bsky.social
missionlocal.org/2025/09/joel...
Joel Engardio recalled: Now anyone can be recalled by everyone
The billionaires' political weapon, the recall, has slipped out of their hands — and into everyone else's. Buckle up.
missionlocal.org
September 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
katferreira.bsky.social
Absolutely delicious string of words to describe regional recall politics:

"San Franciscans have been nurtured in their anger for some time now, to the exclusion of quantifiable facts." @esksf.bsky.social
gilduran.com Gil Durán @gilduran.com · Sep 17
San Francisco's tech billionaires weaponized recall elections against their opponents.

Now, the chickens come home to roost.

"This feels a bit like non-Western nations getting The Bomb. It will be interesting to see who gets blown up next." @esksf.bsky.social
missionlocal.org/2025/09/joel...
Joel Engardio recalled: Now anyone can be recalled by everyone
The billionaires' political weapon, the recall, has slipped out of their hands — and into everyone else's. Buckle up.
missionlocal.org
September 18, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
Everybody loves skate parks. But are they "sustainable"?

Because at Sunset Dunes, the city went into bonded debt to pay for the skate park — and the money came from a bucket earmarked for "Sustainability."

Also "sustainable": Hammocks.

missionlocal.org/2025/09/suns...

From @esksf.bsky.social
S.F. ‘sustainability’ dollars paid for Sunset Dunes hammocks, skate park
It turns out that 'sustainability' and 'significant financial investment' are both difficult terms for Rec and Parks to define
missionlocal.org
September 30, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
marinanewman.bsky.social
With a ban looming on RVs on city streets, the city of San Francisco is creating a resource for worried RV dwellers.

It's ... an AI chatbot.

missionlocal.org/2025/09/san-...
San Francisco’s latest answer for RV dwellers? An AI chatbot.
The San Francisco Mayor's Office is testing a new solution for RV dwellers' pressing questions on an upcoming parking ban, sources say.
missionlocal.org
September 30, 2025 at 9:15 PM
esksf.bsky.social
I FOUND MY PASSWORD! I'M BACK.
September 30, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
Mission Local has learned that the San Francisco Planning Commission advanced the name of Sarah Dennis Phillips to Mayor Lurie to become the next head of city planning.

Three commissioners walked out of today's meeting before the vote.

missionlocal.org/2025/06/sara...

by @esksf.bsky.social
And just like that, Sarah Dennis Phillips will be your new S.F. planning director
Three planning commissioners walk out of today's meeting in protest
missionlocal.org
June 18, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
JUST IN: Several city workers were arrested during a protest during the Board of Supervisors meeting at City Hall.

Some 100 union members had interrupted the meeting to call attention to the mayor's proposed layoffs.

via @kellywaldron.bsky.social

missionlocal.org/2025/06/unio...
Several city workers arrested during protest at Board of Supervisors meeting
Several union workers were arrested during a protest at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday at City Hall.
missionlocal.org
June 17, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
missionlocal.org
Conditions around the Potrero Hill shopping mall have been poor for years, employees say.

But drug deals & loitering have gotten worse, workers say, since SFPD operations at 16th and Mission started.

missionlocal.org/2025/06/sf-p...
At the Potrero Center, some shoppers buy groceries, coffee and bagels. Others buy drugs.
Employees around Potrero Avenue and 16th Street said drug usage has ramped up in the area over the past few weeks.
missionlocal.org
June 18, 2025 at 12:29 AM
esksf.bsky.social
ICYMI

Mayor Lurie is—monomaniacally—sticking to his script. He's not making performative anti-Trump statements. He won't even say the president's name. He is leaving that to politicians with the inclination and ability to do something.

Will he be rewarded or punished by voters?
subtxt.to/uQ3T7yw
Mayor Lurie can’t help S.F. by ripping Trump — yet. But he could help himself.
San Francisco's mayor is showing restraint. Will voters reward him for it? Or punish him?
subtxt.to
June 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
junyaoyang.bsky.social
Here's a good piece from @esksf.bsky.social on this from a while ago: missionlocal.org/2025/02/joel...
Joel Engardio, past recall backer, has tougher path to stave off recall
The District 4 supervisor is facing a recall attempt over Prop. K, which closed the Great Highway. He may want to stop relitigating Prop. K.
missionlocal.org
May 29, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Joe Eskenazi
kqedforum.bsky.social
🎧 Listen to the Podcast!

@esksf.bsky.social, @michaelbarba.bsky.social, Sutro Stewards' Ildiko Polony and Nicola Miner on the shut down of the San Francisco Parks Alliance and what it means for the city's outdoor areas.

🔗: buff.ly/ecWqvIT
KQED's Forum
Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live. In the first hour, Alexis Madrigal convenes the diverse voices of the Bay Area, before turning to Mina Kim for the second…
link.chtbl.com
June 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM