Thanks to our tremendous readers and supporters, it was another banner year for 48 Hills, a decade in, as we continued to grow and cover the stories that big media chains won’t and can’t. We produced more than 1100 stories this year, providing work for dozens of local journalists, reviewers, artists, and creators, and promoting thousands of local arts, music, film, stage, nightlife, and cultural events, festivals, and productions. Our news coverage was often the lone voice questioning the dominant neoliberal, pro-billionaire, pro-developer, pro-police state media and City Hall narrative, while shedding light on the corruption and backroom deals that still shape city policy.
Below are some of our biggest stories of a very busy year. They offer an unmatched breadth of coverage from a local independent news site with a tiny staff and a minuscule budget. We would love to double this coverage in 2024. Please support us here if you can, tell your friends to subscribe to our daily newsletter, follow us on the evil but still unfortunately necessary Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (with more channels to come, we promise). Thank you for all your support, shout out to all of our contributors, let’s keep the soul of this city alive and kicking!
NEWS & POLITICS
BILLIONAIRES FILE LEGAL BRIEF ATTACKING THE UNHOUSED IN SF
THE LOCAL RECORD AND LEGACY OF DIANNE FEINSTEIN
CEASEFIRE NOW: VIOLENCE AND OPPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST MUST END
BREED SAYS SHE WANTS EVEN MORE POWER
ARROGANT DEVELOPER INFURIATES MISSION ACTIVISTS
CHESA BOUDIN TALKS CRIME, JUSTICE—AND WHAT’S HAPPENED TO SF UNDER BROOKE JENKINS
AN EVICTION ON LAKE STREET RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRICE OF RELOCATING TENANTS
LONG COVID HAS REACHED THE ‘RUSSIAN ROULETTE’ STAGE IN THE US
THE STORY BEHIND THE GARDEN-HOSE ASSAULT OUTSIDE A NORTH BEACH GALLERY
NO, THE CLOSURE OF A WHOLE FOODS DOES NOT MEAN THE CITY IS HEADED FOR COLLAPSE
REPARATIONS TASK FORCE MEMBER SPEAKS OUT—ABOUT SOME VERY BAD PRESS COVERAGE
SHOULD DEVELOPERS BULLDOZE 100,000 HOUSES ON THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN?
THE BOB LEE MURDER AND THE MEDIA PROBLEM
UCLA’S SECRETIVE NEOLIBERAL HOUSING CONFERENCE
WHO ARE THE ‘TOXIC’ LOCAL DEMOCRATS, REALLY?
THE TRAGIC TOXIC LEGACY OF THE HUNTERS POINT NAVAL SHIPYARD
THE HOUSING CRISIS SCOTT WIENER CREATED
WE’RE REOPENING THE STUD—HERE’S WHY IT MATTERS
SURPRISE PRICE HIKE SPURS TALK OF VIDEO GAME DEVELOPERS ORGANIZING
ANTI-PROGRESSIVE MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER HAS ALARMING TRANSPHOBIC TWEETS
POLICE CRACKDOWN AT DOLORES SKATE PARTY RAISES ALL SORTS OF TROUBLING QUESTIONS
LIES, DAMN LIES, AND THE NEW ‘REPORT’ ON SAN FRANCISCO GOVERNMENT
AN ONGOING, PRIVATE LIGHT SHOW IN GOLDEN GATE PARK? WHO KNEW?
A FINAL DECISION—FOR NOW—ON THE FATE OF THE CASTRO THEATER
ARTS & CULTURE
RIDE THE SHROOM BOOM (AND EXPAND YOUR MIND) AT THE 51st SF FUNGUS FAIR
CHRISTOPHER OWENS QUIETLY LEAVES SF—AND A HOLE IN OUR HEARTS
SF DRAG LEGEND HEKLINA REPORTEDLY HAS PASSED AWAY
BRINGING SEXY BACK? IRA SACHS ON HIS STEAMY, UNRATED NEW ‘PASSAGES’
TIN MAN FROM EL SOBRANTE: DAVE YOAS TURNS THE ANTIQUATED UPSIDE-DOWN
SCREEN GRABS: SEX, TECH, AND GODZILLA—WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?
IN ‘PORTAL,’ JOHN KING TELLS THE STRANGE AND WONDROUS SAGA OF THE FERRY BUILDING
SF OPERA’S ‘THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS’: A DIAL-UP PORTRAIT OF A COMPLEX GOLIATH
GOOD TASTE: SURVEYING SF’S JAPANESE SANDOS
‘JEOPARDY!’ CHAMP AMY SCHNEIDER DOES NOT WANT TO BE YOUR FAVORITE TRANS PERSON ON TV
WITH ANCHOR’S CLOSURE, SF LOSES MUCH MORE THAN A BREWERY
AN ODE TO THE FABULOUS NEW RESTROOMS OF EL RIO
TOPLESS LEGEND CAROL DODA SHINES ONCE MORE IN NORTH BEACH
HOW THE B-52’S 1982 EP ‘MESOPOTAMIA’ BECAME A BLACK RADIO LODESTAR
SWANS’ MICHAEL GIRA: ‘SUCCESSFUL MUSIC IS A RIVER OF BLOOD, URINE, AND SEMEN. SWIM!’
DEPECHE MODE BRINGS SAN JOSE TO ITS FEET, THEN TO TEARS
LIVE SHOTS: THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY OF FOLSOM STREET FAIR 2023
PUFF: THE CASE FOR THE CANNABIS LOUNGE
CAN BURNING MAN EVER BE CARBON NEUTRAL?
FROM RANCHOS TO DISNEYLAND: FOUR CENTURIES OF CALIFORNIA CARTOGRAPHY
ON POLK STREET AND IN THE TENDERLOIN, A FAMILY OF HUSTLERS AND PRIESTS
