Joe Garofoli

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Joe Garofoli

FOLSOM — Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — two native New Yorkers and Democratic Socialists — did something Tuesday that no California Democrats likely could: turn out 26,000 people for a rally on a Tuesday night in a Republican House district and chart a way forward for an enfeebled and directionless Democratic Party. And they were rapturously greeted by an audience of working-class folks starved for someone who could speak for them.

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Joe Garofoli |Sara Libby

On Tuesday, Oakland voters will choose a mayor to serve out the rest of recalled Mayor Sheng Thao’s term. Scott Strazzante/S.F. ChronicleTuesday is Election Day in Oakland, when voters will choose a mayor to serve out the rest of recalled Mayor Sheng Thao’s term, a new City Council member and decide whether to raise sales taxes to help patch a hole in Oakland’s budget. There are nine candidates on the ballot for the mayor’s race, but two front-runners: former Rep.

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | Joe Garofoli

But Oakland needs something beyond unification and healing. This is a teardown job. Last week in Oakland, I attended a presentation by the policy think tank SPUR on how to fix Oakland’s governance. One speaker was veteran city administrator and UC Berkeley Graduate School of Public Policy lecturer Steve Falk, who is trying to change the City Charter to make Oakland work better.

2 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Joe Garofoli

San Francisco Space Walk — a weeklong, adults-only music, art and cannabis celebration — launches April 13, but the mood behind the scenes is somber this year. That’s because cannabis consumers — and retailers — are bracing for the state excise tax to jump from 15% to 19% on July 1. The tax bump couldn’t come at a worse time: An estimated 15% of state retailers are behind on their taxes, and legal California weed is already the most expensive in the country.

2 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Joe Garofoli

Something is becoming clear in Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term: He’s weak. Sure, he talks tough. Roars on social media or when the cameras are on. Always has. Always will. But when he’s confronted with even the most token of resistance, he backs down. The latest example is Trump abruptly reversing course and pausing for 90 days his poorly thought-out high tariffs “plan” that took effect Wednesday — with the exception of China, whose rate was increased to 125%.