Good afternoon! We have some great stories, and a lot of stuff to do.
• This morning, Judge Loretta Giorgi allowed for one more delay in the prosecution of San Francisco police officer Kenneth Cha, who shot Sean Moore in 2017. His mother, Cleo Moore, expressed her frustration at being kept in the dark by the District Attorney’s Office, and regularly appearing in court only to have the date pushed back repeatedly. Though homicide charges were filed in 2021 against Cha, he is still employed by the SFPD, and the case has dragged on through a change of administration at the District Attorney’s Office and multiple delays. A preliminary hearing date will be set at next month’s court date.
• Don’t miss Eleni Balakrishnan’s fascinating profile of Paula Canny, the lawyer for accused killer Nima Momeni, who “litigates like a dog on a bone.” The formidable lawyer was a rebellious Catholic high school girl who drank, took drugs, and supported abortion. She’s sued different jurisdictions around the country to ensure inmates’ right to menstrual products, for spying on attorney-client emails, and against inhumane jail conditions.
Canny, who went through addiction herself, is keen to point out the importance of context for people accused of crimes. This week Canny referred to the “tribulations” Momeni’s family experienced in Iran, where his mother and sister were victims of sexual apartheid. “She is highly effective, and takes no prisoners, so to speak,” said fellow defense attorney Mark Geragos. “And in a case like this she will not be intimidated by the hue and cry.”
• The safety net for the safety net is at risk of losing city funding. San Francisco’s share of funding for the SF-Marin Food Bank’s pandemic-era pop-up food pantries, which feed over 15,000 households weekly at sites around the city, is ending June 30. The Food Bank already serves 56,000 households, and its pantry waitlists are anywhere from 100-700 people long. Since 2020, food prices have only gone up, and recently CalFresh benefits to 74,000 SF households were slashed, driving more families to the pop-ups. Meg Davidson, the Food Bank’s director of policy and advocacy, said she understands the city budget is tight, but “if you step out of your apartment, you see people needing food. This is not a Covid problem — it’s an everyday problem.”
• Looking for stuff to do? Explore the Mission’s gardens––sidewalk, community, and unofficial––guided by our detailed map, interviews with neighborhood gardeners, and gorgeous photos of the urban superbloom. Then check out lesbian film, lucha libre, and Cuban music.
Enjoy the weekend! I’ll be away for the next few weeks in Spain, seeing how the original colonizers of the Mission are doing. The fabulous Sandra Salmans, our New York editor, will be writing the newsletter.
See you at the end of May,
Sara
The Latest News
Judge grants final delay in Sean Moore police shooting case
Cleo Moore, the victim’s mother, is frustrated by repeated delays and lack of communication from the District Attorney’s office.
Accused killer Nima Momeni’s lawyer, Paula Canny, litigates like ‘a dog on a bone’
The fierce criminal defense and civil rights attorney is not easily intimidated.
SF set to halt critical funding for Food Bank
Pop-up food pantries started during the pandemic era serve 15,000 families around the city.
Explore: The Mission’s gardens
Patches of golden poppies, purple lupine bushes, fields of yellow buttercups — the Mission is superblooming, and we have a map for you.
Stuff to do: lesbian film, Cuban music, and lucha libre…
…and also youth dance, bird counting, and open studios.
SNAP
It’s that way!
By Michael Santiago
Mission Local is a nonprofit news site that depends on its readers.
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