Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

I admittedly skipped July because life is 🤪 right now so I present two pies for August.

A peach pie with my BEST crust to date and a blueberry pie that, despite my forgetting the egg wash and skipping a few baking steps, was by far more popular. Proving looks are not everything!

August 18, 2025 at 8:53 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

Engardio recall ballots are sent to 50,000 Sunset voters. What to know about Prop. A / ✍️ @lihanlihan.bsky.social

sfstandard.com/2025/08/14/r...

Prop. A explainer: Why is Joel Engardio facing a recall?

The effort to remove the supervisor from office began with his support for Prop. K, which closed the Great Highway to cars and ignited a political firestorm on the west side.

sfstandard.com

August 14, 2025 at 4:51 PM

Reposted by Hannah Wiley

CNN

@cnn.com

The start of the school year in the United States poses new threats for the spread of measles amid a record-breaking year for cases and lagging vaccination rates.

A massive US measles outbreak has slowed but the start of the school year brings renewed risk of spread | CNN

Texas hasn’t reported a new outbreak-related measles case in nearly a month — a hopeful sign that one of the largest outbreaks the United States has seen in decades is starting to slow. But the measle...

www.cnn.com

August 6, 2025 at 7:36 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

ICYMI: Lurie spends big bucks on private consultants to bolster public image

sfstandard.com/2025/08/01/s...

SF mayor pays $350K his own money on army of consultants

Mayor Daniel Lurie continues to pay a team of consultants to help craft his public image after his campaign shattered election spending records.

sfstandard.com

August 5, 2025 at 5:49 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

Coffee landmark or old building? Downtown site’s demolition sparks political fight / ✍️ @lihanlihan.bsky.social

sfstandard.com/2025/08/04/c...

Landmark or old building? Downtown SF site’s demolition sparks political fight

The city is pushing forward with plans to demolish an old coffee roastery and warehouse to make room for a new fire station next to a huge high-rise building. Local preservationists are outraged.

sfstandard.com

August 4, 2025 at 4:45 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

SF Mayor Daniel Lurie won election after dumping $9.5 million of his own money into the race.

Now in office, new records show he continues to spend big bucks on private consultants to bolster his public image.

sfstandard.com/2025/08/01/s...

SF mayor pays $350K his own money on army of consultants

Mayor Daniel Lurie continues to pay a team of consultants to help craft his public image after his campaign shattered election spending records.

sfstandard.com

August 1, 2025 at 4:22 PM

Reposted by Hannah Wiley

Stuart Leavenworth

@sleavenworth.bsky.social

Across the country, antigovernment “sovereign citizens” are flooding states and counties with liens, alleging government officials owe them money or property, a tactic the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service have identified as a form of “paper terrorism.”

www.latimes.com/california/s...

How people are weaponizing state systems: ‘We file liens that crush their credit’

Financing statements — meant to record legitimate business liens — are now a vehicle for conspiracy-laced claims, trillion-dollar demands and vendettas against politicians, businesses and public emplo...

www.latimes.com

July 30, 2025 at 4:36 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

As Texas eyes redistricting, Newsom pledges to fight fire with fire

“Everything is at stake if we are not successful next year in taking back the House of Representatives,” the governor said Friday.

sfstandard.com/2025/07/25/n...

Newsom wants California to fight Texas for congressional power in 2026

The two states have entered an all-out redistricting battle to determine which party takes control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 election. “Everything is at stake if we are not succ...

sfstandard.com

July 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

Opinion: Three things San Francisco Democrats can learn from Mamdani’s win in NYC

sfstandard.com/opinion/2025...

Opinion | Three things San Francisco Democrats can learn from Mamdani’s win in NYC

Mamdani may not be the savior the left craves, but his win has important lessons for San Francisco's Democrats

sfstandard.com

July 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

‘God is the only one who can stop him’: Fearing Trump and ICE, SF immigrants go underground

sfstandard.com/2025/07/23/s...

Bracing for the ICE storm: SF immigrants go underground

Empty shops, workers staying home, and some even self-deporting. This isn’t the calm before the storm, but an anxious scramble — a collective rush to bar the doors, board up the windows, and get the h...

sfstandard.com

July 23, 2025 at 8:16 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

‘It’s insulting’: LA Times owner stuns staff with plans to go public

www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

‘It’s insulting’: LA Times owner stuns staff with plans to go public

Inside the newspaper, the announcement landed with a thud.

www.politico.com

July 23, 2025 at 4:51 PM

Reposted by Hannah Wiley

The New York Times

@nytimes.com

A federal judge grilled a Trump administration lawyer during a crucial hearing on a lawsuit brought by Harvard University over the government’s decision to cancel billions of dollars in federal funds for the school.

Judge Challenges Trump Administration in Hearing on Harvard Funding

In a courtroom in Boston on Monday, a lawyer for Harvard called the Trump administration’s case against the school “cooked up.”

trib.al

July 21, 2025 at 5:55 PM

Reposted by Hannah Wiley

Politico

@politico.com

2028 hopefuls aren't waiting for the DNC to set the presidential calendar; they’re testing the waters for themselves in South Carolina.

Democrats in South Carolina are barely pretending they're not already running for president

A whole lot of 2028 Democratic hopefuls seem to be visiting the state.

www.politico.com

July 19, 2025 at 7:22 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

ICYMI: ‘A Ponzi scheme’: Lawmakers skewer leaders of disgraced parks nonprofit

sfstandard.com/2025/07/17/s...

Lawmakers grill leaders of disgraced SF parks nonprofit

Supervisors are probing the former leadership of the Parks Alliance, a once-influential nonprofit that closed in June after allegations of financial misconduct.

sfstandard.com

July 18, 2025 at 4:45 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

Darkened dreams: How a nonprofit for the blind squandered a $125 million windfall

sfstandard.com/2025/07/17/l...

SF nonprofit went from $125M gift to fight for survival

A mysterious $125M gift transformed the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind and Visually impaired. A decade later, layoffs, protests, and financial losses leave the nonprofit fighting to survive.

sfstandard.com

July 17, 2025 at 9:12 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

City Hall’s ‘incredibly hard’ budget is done. Here are the winners and losers

sfstandard.com/2025/07/16/s...

SF's budget battle is done. Who won and who lost?

The Board of Supervisors approved Mayor Daniel Lurie’s budget. Progressive Board of Supervisor member Jackie Fielder was the sole “no” vote.

sfstandard.com

July 16, 2025 at 6:34 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

Under pressure from Lurie, citywide homeless shelters go from mandate to suggestion / ✍️ @lihanlihan.bsky.social

sfstandard.com/2025/07/16/s...

SF mayor, supervisors reach compromise on citywide shelter plan

The original bill mandated that each supervisorial district approve at least one homeless shelter by mid-2026, but faced pushback from Mayor Daniel Lurie.

sfstandard.com

July 16, 2025 at 6:33 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

San Francisco balances on thin blue line with Trump ICE arrests sfstandard.com/2025/07/15/s...

San Francisco balances on thin blue line with Trump ICE arrests

Violent clashes involving federal agents have raised difficulty questions inside the SFPD and City Hall.

sfstandard.com

July 15, 2025 at 4:40 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

City attorneys warned commissioner about potential ethics breach. She ignored them

sfstandard.com/2025/07/15/s...

City warned official about ethics breach with former employer

Planning Commissioner Kathrin Moore approved multiple projects for her former employer, architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, despite being warned by city attorneys that her votes could violat...

sfstandard.com

July 15, 2025 at 4:40 PM

Hannah Wiley

@hannahcwiley.bsky.social

The new rules of SF’s drug markets / ✍️ David Sjostedt

"It’s past San Francisco’s bedtime. The buses have mostly stopped running, and the skyline has dimmed. But many of the city’s drug dealers are just clocking in for work."

sfstandard.com/2025/07/11/s...