Two people in a warehouse with stacks of newspapers. One person is crouched by the stacks; the other stands next to a dolly and is on the phone. Machinery and a fence are in the background.
Vicky AƱibarro and Eleni Balakrishnan, picking up the newspapers. October 7, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.

This year, we committed to delivering the most in-depth local election coverage to as many San Franciscans as possible. This week, we continued to make good on that promise. 

Our small but mighty team spent two days distributing 20,000 free print newspapers with the best of our election coverage to reach voters who might otherwise not be able to access it. We printed 10,000 copies in Spanish and 10,000 copies in traditional Chinese.  

Distributing thousands of copies in two days was no small task. It took three U-Haul vans, two dollies, a car, a cart and a lot of heavy lifting. We left copies at libraries, cafes and restaurants, shopping malls, hospitals, senior centers, San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco. We even braved the Fell Street DMV waiting room. 

Over the course of three weeks, Xueer Lu, one of our reporters, compiled the best of our coverage on the mayor’s race, supervisor races, and campaign finance coverage into a 24-page color printout. The featured articles were translated into Spanish by ElvĆ­a Rodriguez and Andrea Valencia, and into Chinese by Rongcheng Zhang and Lu.The entire operation was overseen by Lydia ChĆ”vez.

Here’s a digital copy of the newspaper, in Spanish and Chinese. Of course, all our election coverage is available in English, Spanish and Chinese on our dashboard

Where you can find a copy

Businesses along:

  • 24th Street (Mission District)
  • Mission Street (Mission District) 
  • Mission Street (Lower Excelsior) 
  • Capp Street (Mission District) 
  • Clement Street (Inner Richmond) 
  • Clement Street (Outer Richmond) 
  • Ocean Avenue (Ingleside)
  • Taraval Street (Outer Sunset)
  • 3rd Street (Bayview) 
  • San Bruno Avenue (Portola)
  • Chinatown 

Other locations:

  • SFPL Mission 
  • SFPL Main branch
  • SFPL Outer Sunset
  • SFPL Richmond 
  • SFPL Anza Vista
  • SFPL Western Addition 
  • SFPL Parkside
  • SFPL Bayview 
  • SFPL Chinatown
  • SFPL North Beach
  • Southeast Community Center 
  • Willie ā€œWoo Wooā€ Wong Playground
  • YMCA Chinatown
  • YMCA Bayview Hunters Point
  • D10 Community Market 
  • Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center
  • Wu Yee Children’s Services 
  • CYCSF Bayview
  • Woh Hei Yuen
  • Manilatown Senior Center
  • Asian Art Museum concierge 
  • San Francisco State University 
  • City College (Ocean Campus) 
  • City College (Mission Campus) 
  • SF DMV 
  • SF General Hospital 
  • Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
  • Richmond Senior Center 
  • Stonestown Mall 
  • City Center Mall

Here’s our newspaper distribution in photos:

A person in a red shirt sits inside a van filled with stacks of newspapers, holding one in hand and smiling.
Abigail Van Neely ready to make some deliveries. October 7, 2024. Photo by Xueer Lu. 
A person organizing stacks of papers inside a van wearing a white top and red pants.
Lydia ChƔvez pictured by Abigail Van Neely.
Person carrying newspapers on a sidewalk with colorful banners above, surrounded by parked cars and shop signs.
Eleni Balakrishnan handing out papers along 24th Street in the Mission. October 7, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.
Two people standing in front of an open van holding stacks of newspapers.
Heather Smith and Oscar Palma handing out papers in the Mission. October 7, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.
Person in black clothing pulls a cart stacked with newspapers in a bookstore with wooden shelves filled with books.
Heather Smith with the newspaper dolly. October 7, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.
A smiling person wearing a beanie looks through a cafe window with newspapers and posters visible inside.
We left papers in cafes, hair salons, laundromats — all kinds of businesses along many commercial corridors. October 7, 2024. Oscar Palma pictured by Abigail Van Neely.
Three people stand at a crosswalk with newspapers on a red trolley.
Vicky AƱibarro, Emmanuel Fonseca and Xueer Lu making deliveries on Taraval Street in the Outer Sunset. October 7, 2024. Photo by Kelly Waldron.
A person smiles while carrying a stack of newspapers, crossing a street with a tram in the background.
Emmanuel Fonseca on Taraval Street. October 7, 2024. Photo by Kelly Waldron.
Person in a hat reads a newspaper in a parking lot on a sunny day with parked cars and buildings in the background.
A man reads Mission Local in Chinese. October 7, 2024. Photo by Kelly Waldron.
Two people standing on a street corner, leaning against a red newspaper box. One is on the phone, and both are casually dressed. A crosswalk and buildings are visible in the background.
Kelly Waldron and Joe Rivano Barros offloading papers along Clement Street. October 8, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.
People reading and working at tables in a library; one person wears a mask and leans over reading a newspaper.
We left newspapers at many San Francisco Public Library locations, including here at the Richmond Branch. October 8, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.
Two people carrying stacks of newspapers walk through a parking lot toward a large white building.
Heading into City Center mall on Geary Boulevard. October 8, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.
Five people standing outdoors, smiling, and holding maps or brochures in front of a modern building with large windows and a tree in the foreground.
Some faculty at San Francisco State University pitched in to help distribute newspapers across campus. October 8, 2024. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.

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Find me looking at data. I studied Geography at McGill University and worked at a remote sensing company in Montreal, analyzing methane data, before turning to journalism and earning a master's degree from Columbia Journalism School.

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