48 Hills

48 Hills is an independent news and culture website for San Francisco and the Bay Area, created by ex-editors and publishers of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Founded in 2013 by Tim Redmond, this platform is updated every day and now attracts around 30,000 readers each week. It features a wide range of topics, including news, politics, arts, music, nightlife, and various aspects of culture.

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New Yimby bill would make it harder for cities to raise money for affordabe housing

3 days ago | 48hills.org | Tim Redmond

The Yimby movement is backing a bill in the state Legislature that would make it more difficult for local government to raise real-estate transfer taxes—a key source of revenue for affordable housing. AB 698, by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks of Berkeley, would do exactly what the Yimbys and their allies complain about: Add a “constraint” to passing taxes on high-end real-estate transactions. Transfer taxes are fees collected by local government based on the sales price of real estate.
'Co-Founders' taps into universal hustle, from Silicon Valley to Vallejo

5 days ago | 48hills.org | Emily Wilson

Technology is a tool, and how we use it matters. That’s one of the ideas driving Co-Founders (through July 6 at ACT’s Strand Theater), says Anthony Veneziale, the play’s creative producer. He’s convinced that tech can create a more equitable future—but that for it to do so, things will have to change.
What the Lurie budget does—and doesn't—offer - 48 hills

5 days ago | 48hills.org | Tim Redmond

It will be a while before anyone drills down into the details of the mayor’s budget plan. It’s 343 pages, and most reporters so far have just outlined the press statements. But the patterns that will shape this document, and Lurie’s legacy, are pretty clear. A budget is a statement of policy priorities. Here’s what this budget does—and what the Lurie Administration has made its top priority:—It pours money into public safety, particularly law enforcement.
For Engardio, the recall math doesn't look good

1 week ago | 48hills.org | Tim Redmond

In 1983, when I was a young reporter just starting out at the San Francisco Bay Guardian, then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein signed a law strictly limiting the possession of handguns in the city. A self-described Marxist-Leninist group called the White Panthers, whose members argued that the left should be well armed, immediately launched an effort to recall the mayor.
Conquering funding travails, tricky chords, Sondheim's 'Pacific Overtures' returns

1 week ago | 48hills.org | Emily Wilson

Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Pacific Overtures (which runs Fri/30-June 13 at Brava) is based on an unlikely subject for a musical: the forcible opening of Japan to the Western world in 1853. Despite his background in musicals and traditional Japanese theater, director Nick Ishimaru wasn’t well-versed the show—which hasn’t been performed in the Bay Area in decades—but the more he learned about it, the more he loved the production.
Could a New York mayoral candidate have a solution to SF, state budget crisis?

1 week ago | 48hills.org | Tim Redmond

Mayor Daniel Lurie and Gov. Gavin Newsom are facing budget crises that threaten basic services, and as they prepare for brutal cuts, they are also facing a serious adversary: Organized labor. In rallies at City Hall and at the last Board of Regents meeting, broad coalitions of local and statewide union members have opposed the deep cuts that have already impacted essential programs and may lead to layoffs.
The Parks Alliance, now in financial crisis, has a long and sordid history

1 week ago | 48hills.org | Tim Redmond

The San Francisco Parks Alliance, a private group that raises private money (allegedly) for improvements to city parks, is in something akin to financial free fall, as allegations emerge that the group badly mismanaged its money and used funds earmarked for other organizations to cover its own budget problems. The Lurie Administration has cut the alliance off from city funding, and a lot of small community groups that are owed money are scrambling.
Bay Area minor league baseball reminds us what we're rooting for

1 week ago | 48hills.org | Alan Chazaro

Unless you’re a diehard baseballer, you’ve likely never been to a Stockton Ports game. Chances are, you’ve never even heard of the team. The Ports are a Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, who drew national ire for their painfully out-of-touch 2024 decision to ditch The Town for Las Vegas, by way of Sacramento. Ever since the A’s announced their departure, the Ports have seen an increase in fans, many of whom were once loyal to the green and gold.
Drama Masks: 'Parade' and its mob justice feels too close for comfort

1 week ago | 48hills.org | Charles Lewis III

When the musical Parade (through June 8 at the Orpheum Theatre) premiered in 1998, it came at the tail-end of a tumultuous decade that everyone revisions as innocuous. Despite what reruns of Friends might have you believe, those of us who were alive in the ‘90s (particularly, those of us from marginalized groups) recall every great stride of the Clinton era being tempered with an equal-if-not-greater setback.
Under the Stars: What is San Francisco cool in 2025? Mae Powell's language of love

1 week ago | 48hills.org | John-Paul Shiver

Hey, it’s Under The Stars, babe. A quasi-weekly column that presents new music releases, upcoming shows, opinions, and other adjacent items. We keep it moving like insufficient funds, hustling with the changes, and thinking outside the margins. We’ve been doing this for five years… Spend some time with us…PACHYMAN AND MNDSGN AT THE CHAPEL, OCTOBER 28I’m letting you know about this one far in advance, but again, such stellar combo for the price of one is guaranteed to sell out.