Good afternoon! Here’s the latest:
Sad news: Curtis Kimball, the “Crème Brûleé Guy” turned “Pancake Guy” has died at the age of 46. Kimball built community during the pandemic, flipping free pancakes for friends and strangers in Precita Park.
Advocates rallied today behind Max Carter-Oberstone, the reform-minded police commissioner slated for removal by Mayor Daniel Lurie. Carter-Oberstone, a whistleblower under Mayor Breed, needs votes from six supervisors to keep his job.
If San Francisco’s byzantine permitting system fills you with dread, you’re not alone. Mayor Lurie’s permit reform plan, writes Joe Eskenazi, is a good one—but it won’t be cheap or quick. See what else the city could do right now to make things easier.
Want to know the back story about how we wound up in this “Kafkaesque nightmare”? Read our incredible 2021 story about archaic technology, corruption, and dysfunction inside the Department of Building Inspection.
More soon,
Sara
Latest News
Curtis Kimball, ‘Crème Brûlée Guy’ turned ‘Pancake Guy,’ dies at 46
“I’m making pancakes. We’re all making friends.”
Lurie’s permit reform is a good idea-but it won’t be fast or cheap
“Perhaps the city could start by doing less.”
Advocates rally to keep police commissioner
“He would prefer commissioners who follow his orders and do as they’re told.”
Back Story
2021: DBI clings to 19th-century technology
“Complete institutional dysfunction.”
SNAP
Wait flower wait
by David Chalk
Events
Today: Hazlett at The Chapel, February 24, 8-10PM
Tomorrow: The Cottontails & After-Hours Jam at the Woodchoppers’ Ball, Verdi Club, February 25, 9PM