By Rebecca Bowe

The saga of one of the biggest development battles in San Francisco took an unexpected turn today when Gap, Inc. founder and billionaire Don Fisher announced that he would back off from his plans for a private art museum in the Presidio. The proposed 100,000 square foot museum sparked widespread public outrage, with critics charging that it was an inappropriate location that wouldn’t jive with the surroundings. Read more »

By Rebecca Bowe

Things were finally beginning to fall into place for Jon Aguon. The 24-year-old college student and avid surfer and skater had completed his summer courses the day before, he’d just signed a lease on a place in the city, and he planned to spend the afternoon at a skate park on Potrero Avenue. He loaded up his skateboard, hopped on his bike, and started making his way there. Read more »

By Rebecca Bowe

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Leah Shahum (right) and cyclist Lynn Howe moments after the SFMTA Board declared its unanimous support for 45 new Bike Plan projects.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board approved 45 San Francisco Bike Plan projects earlier this afternoon, a move that will nearly double the number of bike lanes in the city. Read more »

This week, we report on the political fireworks surrounding the city's budget process, which got especially loud last week at the dueling rallies outside City Hall.

As the Chronicle noted, Police Officer's Association President Gary Delagnes -- who lives in Novato -- made waves by calling the city's progressive Supervisors "carpetbaggers" and "idiots" while speaking at a rally organized by the p Read more »

By Rebecca Bowe

Mayor Gavin Newsom joined the city’s police, fire and sheriff departments yesterday afternoon in protesting the Board of Supervisors’ move to slash funding to those departments in order to restore cuts to critical services that the mayor had included in his interim budget.

In essence, the mayor was sending a very divisive message, pitting one set of city employees against another. Read more »

By Rebecca Bowe

Hundreds marched from Hallidie Plaza to San Francisco City Hall yesterday afternoon to protest Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposed city budget, which contains deep cuts to address a looming $438 million general fund deficit. Read more »