Good morning!

The scarcity of toilet paper defined the consumer experience during the early days of the pandemic and today Joe Eskenazi uses toilet paper to explain SF’s budget squabbles.

Celebrations abounded this weekend, including Greek feasts and Latinx fiestas.

There are mysteries to solve and so many interesting people to meet, including Shirley Xu and Niki.

Feeling up on your local news? Try this quiz to test yourself.

And, if you haven’t already, consider supporting nonprofit news sites without a paywall. We depend on you.

Thank you,

Lydia

The Latest News

Toilet Paper San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco spends HOW MUCH on toilet paper?

Why are we focusing on the toilet paper and not the much bigger expenditures?

a woman in a pink t-shirt

People We Meet: Niki, a woman with many names

On Friday morning outside Arizmendi Bakery, Niki Berkowitz is wearing a bright pink T-shirt listing her different identities.

People sitting outside eating. Gyros stall in the background with people lining up to order food.

Photos: the 72nd edition of the Mission’s Greek Food Festival

“Today we’re all Greek,” said Nardin Sarkis, a SoMa resident who came up to the Mission with his partner for the festival.

Four photos from the week's news.

Quiz of the week: Which building was demolished to make way for housing?

Think you know your city? Find out.

A dancer on a stage, with a blue dress on. Two musicians on either side of her.

Fiesta de las Américas in Photos

Calle24 put on a big party Saturday to celebrate all of the Américas.

The Bernal Heights swing faces expansive views of the bay.

Bernal Heights swing remains a mystery to locals and tourists

Mimi Klausner remembers the day when a group of Japanese tourists on Bernal Hill approached her for help, looking around in confusion and flashing a picture of the Bernal Heights swing.

Shirley Xu sits behind the sewing machine with colorful thread spools in the back in Sunny Launderette.

People We Meet: Shirley Xu at Sunny Launderette

On Monday afternoon at Sunny Launderette, the sewing machines were quiet, and Shirley Xu had just finished lunch.  

SNAP

Stenciling on the sidewalk that says sweep Breed not tents.

And that’s what the sidewalk says

By Walter Mackins

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I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.

As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.

As founder and an editor at ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.