Closeup photo of Supervisor Matt Dorsey smiling at the camera. The background shows city buildings and part of the Bay Bridge.

Supervisor Defends Dropping Support for Addiction-Treatment Centers

Supervisor Matt Dorsey received backlash this month for asking the mayor to redirect the entire $18.9 million in city funding budgeted for a new drop-in addiction treatment center toward jails instead.

Dorsey told the San Francisco Public Press that he reversed his previous support for the centers — called wellness hubs — once the city’s plans narrowed to one site from six, and removed safe consumption sites, which would have allowed people to consume drugs under supervision so they could receive immediate help in case of overdose.

Dorsey said he now wants the funds to go toward jail health services, including forcing treatment for people in jail who are struggling with substance abuse disorder.

A graphic from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s preliminary accidental drug overdose data report indicates the types of substances causing accidental fatal overdoses and number of deaths in San Francisco this year by day of death from Jan. 1 to July 31.

City Leaders at Odds as Overdose Deaths Trending Toward Record High

Accidental drug overdose deaths continue to torment San Francisco, according to data released Tuesday by the city medical examiner’s office.

While June saw the lowest monthly number of overdose deaths this year, 54, in July it climbed back up to 71. With 473 overdose deaths this year, San Francisco is on track to surpass its highest recorded number of overdose deaths in a calendar year — 725 in 2020.

A group of people stand and sit holding signs on the steps of a court building. Some of the signs read: "open the courts, free our people," "speedy trial rights," "end the trial delay, free our people," "free our people," and "speedy trial violations." In the upper left background, woman standing at a lectern speaks into a microphone.

State Supreme Court to Weigh In on Long Trial Delays

A lawsuit against San Francisco Superior Court over its routine failure to uphold defendants’ right to a speedy trial is now in the hands of California’s Supreme Court. San Francisco has more than 1,100 cases past statutory time limits, and 115 of those defendants are languishing in jail without a conviction.

An adult forcibly picks up a boy wearing a red sweatshirt with a hood. Their faces are turned away. A police officer in uniform walks in the background.

Children Violently Removed by Court Order Resurface and Report Traumatic Experience

It has been seven months since Maya Laing and her brother Sebastian, who were 15 and 11 at the time, were violently taken from their grandmother’s Santa Cruz home by court order.

Judge Rebecca Connelly, who oversaw their custody case, rejected the siblings’ claims that their mother abused them, and last October she ordered them into reunification training to repair their fractured relationship with their mother.

A friend of Maya’s recorded and posted to social media a video of the siblings resisting while transport agents from Assisted Intervention physically overpowered them in October. That was the last time Maya and Sebastian’s father, his family and the children’s friends had any knowledge of their condition — until now.

A man in fatigues speaks into a microphone at a news conference. He is surrounded by other people in police and law enforcement uniforms. They stand in front of flags and a burgundy curtain.

Military-Style Drug War in Tenderloin Sparks Fears That More Drug Users Could Overdose

Last week’s deployment of the National Guard and California Highway Patrol onto San Francisco’s streets to crack down on drugs comes amid intense public pressure to address open air drug use and sales.

But the emphasis on law enforcement for addressing the city’s drug crisis has distressed public defense attorneys and harm reduction advocates who fear the move may worsen the rate of fatal overdoses.

A fence enclosing the Tenderloin Linkage Center at United Nations Plaza in San Francisco is covered in black tarp and signs promoting the center and its services. Pedestrians walk along a red brick-paved sidewalk outside of the enclosed area.

With Overdose Deaths Surging, Critics Chide City, State for Curbing Safe Consumption Centers

San Francisco’s chief medical examiner delivered grim statistics last week about a recent increase in deaths related to drug use. In the first three months of the year, 200 people died of accidental overdose. That’s up significantly from the first quarter last year, with 142 deaths.

These tragedies were disproportionately suffered by marginalized groups. The biggest increase in deaths occurred among those who lacked housing. People listed as having “no fixed address” accounted for 61 overdose deaths in the first quarter, up from 26 during the same period in 2022. Black residents accounted for 33% of fatal overdoses in the first quarter this year, despite representing only 5% of the city’s population.

Addiction experts say the recent increase in overdose deaths could be linked to the closure of the Tenderloin Linkage Center, a temporary facility that operated in United Nations Plaza from January to December 2022 to help drug users and people without housing access supportive services.

A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and wearing a pale blue sweater faces forward and appears to be speaking in a screen-grab image from a TikTok video.

Family Courts Rely on Dubious Theory to Dismiss Child Abuse Claims

Disbelieving a child’s allegation of abuse based on the notion that the other parent brainwashed them into lying is a hotly debated legal tactic called parental alienation.

A growing chorus of international media coverage, medical groups and judicial bodies are expressing doubts over the validity of this legal defense tactic and of its practitioners.

A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and wearing a pale blue sweater faces forward and appears to be speaking in a screen-grab image from a TikTok video.

Reporter’s Notebook: When Family Court Fails

I’ve been a print reporter for decades, but my venture into audio journalism this past year as a contributor to the San Francisco Public Press’ “Civic” podcast and radio show has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career. Through this work, I get to take a deep dive into issues that have a huge impact on people’s lives and to explore with you how systemic change can happen. 

Most recently, the radio team has been developing a series about the way family courts handle allegations of abuse. And in a nutshell, what I’ve learned is not good.

Now we’re about to release our third episode of a four-part series on abuse allegations and family courts. This episode is about the industry built around defending people accused of child abuse. It ramped up about 40 years ago with one man’s pseudo psychological theory called parental alienation syndrome. 

Proposition H — City Elections in Even-Numbered Years

Proposition H would move elections scheduled for odd-numbered years to even-numbered ones. Proponents argue that the measure is a boon for democracy since it could lead to double the number of voters casting ballots. San Francisco election participation data indicates that in even-numbered years, nearly twice as many voters turn out than in odd-numbered years.