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3 weeks ago | 
sfstandard.com | Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez |Gabe Greschler
On the campaign trail, Daniel Lurie vowed to vanquish City Hall corruption, promising to fully fund the city’s governance watchdog, the Ethics Commission. Now, as mayor, Lurie just blew a gaping hole in the department’s budget, sparking an outcry from its leader. “We need to spend money on the front end, before they become big problems,” said Patrick Ford, executive director of the Ethics Commission. “In that sense, an investment in ethics is a cost saver in the long run. Our department is tiny.
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4 weeks ago | 
sfstandard.com | Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez |Gabe Greschler
Mayor Daniel Lurie released his nearly $16-billion budget proposal on Friday, showcasing his master plan to close San Francisco’s colossal $782-million budget deficit. Many services will keep their funding: the San Francisco Police Department, the Public Defender’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, street cleaning crews, and homelessness services will maintain current funding levels. Everything else will be razed.
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1 month ago | 
sfstandard.com | Gabe Greschler |Josh Koehn
Four former top employees with the San Francisco Parks Alliance, the politically connected nonprofit that has funneled millions toward the city’s green spaces, received bonuses last year while the organization was racking up a massive deficit, The Standard has learned.
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1 month ago | 
sfstandard.com | Gabe Greschler |Jonah Owen Lamb
A Southern California lawyer who worked on the Republican-led committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack has been tapped as the next U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, the Standard has learned. He will start May 27, according to a source directly familiar with the matter. The Department of Justice confirmed Missakian’s appointment. Between 2014 and 2016, Missakian worked as the deputy chief counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives.
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2 months ago | 
sfstandard.com | Josh Koehn |Gabe Greschler
As the president attacks DEI initiatives, San Francisco officials are hunkering down in fear of lawsuits and federal funding cuts. The president’s attacks on DEI could leave San Francisco vulnerable to massive cuts in federal dollars. | Source: Photo illustration by Jim CookeAs the president attacks DEI initiatives, San Francisco officials are hunkering down in fear of lawsuits and federal funding cuts.
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2 months ago | 
sfstandard.com | Annie Gaus |Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez |Gabe Greschler
Drew Becher, who led the Parks Alliance for eight years, left the job in February as revenues faltered. Drew Becher, longtime CEO of the San Francisco-based nonprofit Parks Alliance, quietly left the job earlier this year after an eight-year tenure, The Standard has learned. The nonprofit confirmed Becher’s departure Wednesday. Robert Ogilvie, who formerly worked with Lighthouse Public Affairs and at SPUR’s Oakland office, has been serving as interim CEO since February.
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2 months ago | 
sfstandard.com | Gabe Greschler |Annie Gaus
KImberly Ellis is under investigation over allegations of impropriety at her department. The city attorney called her claims "baseless."A San Francisco department head who was recently put on paid leave over questions about her agency’s spending alleged in a new lawsuit that she was pushed out after raising concerns about sexual misconduct at a foster care program.
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Mar 28, 2025 | 
sfstandard.com | Josh Koehn |Gabe Greschler |Annie Gaus
The Department on the Status of Women spared no expense on plane tickets, a DJ, and fees for speakers — including one tasked with agency oversight. San Francisco is famous for burning taxpayer cash in weird ways, but a policy summit held by the Department on the Status of Women last spring may have set a new standard by lighting more than $600,000 ablaze while also potentially violating city rules, according to documents obtained by The Standard.
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Mar 27, 2025 | 
sfstandard.com | Josh Koehn |Gabe Greschler
As director of the Department on the Status of Women, Kimberly Ellis used taxpayer money for extravagances that include a fancy Tahoe retreat — with her close pal at her side. Back in October 2023, employees in San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women made a nearly four-hour trek to Gravity Haus, a resort in Truckee that bills itself as a “storied California playland” due to its amenities and proximity to Tahoe’s ski slopes.
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Mar 20, 2025 | 
sfstandard.com | Gabe Greschler |Noah Baustin
Investigators revealed new details Thursday about an ex-San Francisco department head who allegedly enriched herself through a corrupt scheme of bribes and illegal gifts that went on for years. The city attorney’s office said that Sheryl Davis, who resigned as Human Rights Commission director, received tens of thousands of dollars from a city-funded organization which benefitted her personal business ventures, expensive travel, and her son’s tuition to UCLA.
