48 Hills | Independent daily San Francisco news + culture

Good Taste: 42 dishes in one meal? Merchant Roots did that

...and we ate it. SoMa restaurant offers 'Around the Summer in 42 Plates'—and a 'pay what you can' night.

Food & Drink Tamara Palmer - July 17, 2026

Under the Stars: Spacemoth alights again with ‘Inward Eye’

Plus: Nate Mercereau strums up 'Fantastic Thoughts,' Issa Rae and Kool Keith come to SF, Eric André gets his bag, more music

Music John-Paul Shiver - July 16, 2026

After ten years, advocates finally have a chance to make public bank a reality

Just a vision in 2016, it's now coming before the voters. But will Mayor Lurie stand in the way?

City Hall Ian Firstenberg - July 17, 2026

Billionaire Chris Larsen gifts more millions to SF’s growing surveillance state

Police Commission approves another huge donation to SFPD's Real Time Investigation Center, whose operations have not been secure.

Police Ian Firstenberg - July 16, 2026

Movies

Screen Grabs: Honk, honk, here comes ‘The Odyssey’

Dennis Harvey - July 15, 2026

Plus: Evil Dead Burn's witless gore, two queer classics return, three cheers for Jacques Tati and Robin Williams, more movies.

Stage Review

Drama Masks: Who ya gonna call? ‘Scabmuggers’

Charles Lewis III - July 15, 2026

As job-stealing AI creeps onto the local theater scene, Yvonne Martinez's new play dives into labor politics.

Art

After his passing, a daughter collects and catalogues her father’s generous art

Mary Corbin - July 15, 2026

Jonathan T. Raup’s Zen-influenced work was gifted to friends and relatives—now it comes together in new project and show.

Movies

Jewish Film Fest takes on AIDS, abortion, experimental music

Joshua Rotter - July 15, 2026

As 46th installment launches, speaking to the folks behind 'Tell Me Everything,' 'Hollywood Does Abortion,' 'mdbr mdbr.'

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He can Handel it! Philharmonia Baroque’s new director Peter Whelan mounts ‘Tolomeo’

Music Marke B. - July 14, 2026

Irish conductor, harpsichordist, and bassoonist leads spirited period orchestra, starting with daring 1728 opera.

The Femcels: Barred from the US because their boobs got too big?

Music Jasmin Shirazian - July 14, 2026

'Rubbish and annoying' yet incredibly fun UK duo face the truth of album title 'I Have To Get Hotter.'

Nodding to tech conformity, ‘Escapement’ charted how relationships transform us

Dance Lucia Verzola - July 14, 2026

Tether Dance Project's time-bending, high-energy, first full-length work showed promise of what's to come.

Exploring SF’s recent history: New book looks at 1990 to 2024

Lit Tim Redmond - July 14, 2026

Booms, busts, tech, evictions, Burning Man... We talk to 'City on the Edge' author Jonathan Weber about our contentious moment.

After police violence over Pride weekend, trans leaders deliver demands to Lurie

Police Marke B. - July 14, 2026

Speakers described being attacked by cops in full riot gear, violent arrests, cars driving into Trans March

No bumps on a log allowed at 50th Free Folk Fest

Music Jess Oledan - July 13, 2026

Sea shanty workshops, Celtic flair, jangling morris dancers, zydeco rhythms, more global styles brought everyone in.

Win a pair of tickets to see King Woman at GAMH

Contest Marke B. - July 13, 2026

A chance to see the cathartically spiritual and doom-laden act on Wed/15—on us.

Cuban jazz legend Omar Sosa: ‘Everything started in San Francisco’

Music Lou Fancher - July 13, 2026

New Quarteto Americanos album 'We Are Not the Headliner' celebrates 'art as the reality of the community.'

Why change the disclosure rules for developers and political consultants?

The Agenda Tim Redmond - July 12, 2026

Plus: Key Charter amendments—and it looks as if the DSA housing initiative is going to be hard to defeat. That's The Agenda for July 12-19

Jewish lullaby echoes from tragically relevant past in ‘The Lonely Child’

Movies Marke B. - July 12, 2026

At Jewish Film Fest, 80-year-old tune from Vilna Ghetto preserves harrowing history—and gains new life—in documentary.

46th Jewish Film Fest embraces universal experience (sea monkeys included)

Movies Dennis Harvey - July 12, 2026

Rideshare drivers, Hollywood abortion, Gen Z hedonists, Woody Guthrie, 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' in expansive program.

Dance feeds the soul—and body—in Julia Adam’s gourmet ‘Lunae’

Dance Aimée Ts'ao - July 12, 2026

For two weekends in Petaluma, dance mavens can taste an al fresco connection between farmed land and celestial bodies.

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Movies

Screen Grabs: Honk, honk, here comes ‘The Odyssey’

Plus: Evil Dead Burn's witless gore, two queer classics return, three cheers for Jacques Tati and Robin Williams, more movies.

Movies Dennis Harvey - July 15, 2026

Jewish lullaby echoes from tragically relevant past in ‘The Lonely Child’

46th Jewish Film Fest embraces universal experience (sea monkeys included)

Special 48 Hills discounts on SF Jewish Film Fest tickets and packages

Music

Under the Stars: Spacemoth alights again with ‘Inward Eye’

Plus: Nate Mercereau strums up 'Fantastic Thoughts,' Issa Rae and Kool Keith come to SF, Eric André gets his bag, more music

Music John-Paul Shiver - July 16, 2026

The Femcels: Barred from the US because their boobs got too big?

No bumps on a log allowed at 50th Free Folk Fest

Win a pair of tickets to see King Woman at GAMH

Art

After his passing, a daughter collects and catalogues her father’s generous art

Jonathan T. Raup’s Zen-influenced work was gifted to friends and relatives—now it comes together in new project and show.

Art Mary Corbin - July 15, 2026

Harry Nordlinger’s comics channel chilling dead malls, creepy Chuck E. Cheese

Sculptor Stephanie Robison’s tactile wonders call out ‘squeeze me’

Esteban Samayoa’s art reflects deep love for—and survival of—East Bay community

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Housing

The Chron discovers, sort of, that Wiener’s housing bills are a con

Finally, a story that mentions the real issue: Cities can't force developers to build

Housing Zelda Bronstein - July 6, 2026

Lurie and four supes move to cut affordable housing fees for luxury developers

New Melgar-Lurie plan for affordable housing is great; cutting other funding is not

The complete failure of Lurie’s tax cuts for developers on full display at hearing

Politics

After ten years, advocates finally have a chance to make public bank a reality

Just a vision in 2016, it's now coming before the voters. But will Mayor Lurie stand in the way?

City Hall Ian Firstenberg - July 17, 2026

Public power moves a step forward

The political transformation of Sup. Alan Wong

Public bank moves forward

Opinion

The other problem with police drones: They don’t work well in San Francisco

The slick marketing gloss entirely ignores the basic laws of meteorology and aerodynamics

Police Shaun Haines - July 9, 2026

In Cuba, blackouts and resilience

Politicians know they’ll get booed at Trans March; harassment from cops is real issue

Should SF offer sanctuary for the Statue of Liberty?

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Performance

Drama Masks: Who ya gonna call? ‘Scabmuggers’

As job-stealing AI creeps onto the local theater scene, Yvonne Martinez's new play dives into labor politics.

Stage Review Charles Lewis III - July 15, 2026

48 hillsIndependent San Francisco News + Culture

48 hillsIndependent San Francisco News + Culture

48 Hills is community-supported journalism

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