This Week's Top Stories

SF Opera

SF Opera Strike Ends: Tentative Four-Year Deal Clears the Way for Season to Open Sept. 22

After a six-day walkout that canceled five performances, management and musicians reached a tentative agreement on Sept. 17, pending ratification by the full orchestra.

The curtain at the War Memorial Opera House is finally set to rise on the 2026–27 season. <cite index="29-3,29-4">Five days after the San Francisco Opera Orchestra struck the season-opening performance of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, the labor action came to an end when SF Opera and the orchestra, represented by the American Federation of Musicians Local 6, jointly announced they had reached a tentative settlement on a new four-year contract.</cite> <cite index="29-5">The contract, which must still be ratified by orchestra members in a vote, would run retroactively from Aug. 1, 2026…

City Hall

Supervisors Approve Trimmed OpenGov Contract — $28 Million Through 2029, Not the $38.9M Lurie Sought

The Board voted 10-1 on Sept. 15 to extend the controversial PermitSF contract, shaving a decade off Mayor Lurie's original ask after questions arose over the software's performance.

<cite index="39-7">In a 10-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors approved a contract extension of up to $28 million for OpenGov, the software that powers "PermitSF," Mayor Lurie's project that promises to be a one-stop shop for residents and businesses seeking permits.</cite> <cite index="39-8">The extension — of a contract that began in October through an initial no-bid, $5.9 million, one-year agreement — will last through 2029.</cite> The vote resolved weeks of public debate at City Hall. <cite index="37-8,37-9">Almost a year ago, Mayor Daniel Lurie's office had awarded a $5.9 million contract…

Tenderloin Museum

Displaced by Fire, Tenderloin Museum Holds Annual Gala at War Memorial — and Races to Fund Expansion

The museum's 11th annual fundraiser moves to the War Memorial Green Room on Sept. 23 after a June hotel fire above its Eddy Street home forced a temporary closure.

<cite index="101-17,101-18">A fire on June 27 forced the Tenderloin Museum to close, the museum reported in an Instagram post. The fire originated "in the residential floors of The Cadillac Hotel, above our space."</cite> The museum has been holding programs at off-site venues ever since, including its regular Dodge Alley concerts and events at the Compton's Cafeteria Riot space on Larkin Street. <cite index="103-1,103-2">The museum's 11th Annual Gala, "A Decade Plus One," is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at The Green Room at San Francisco War…

Upcoming Events

Friday–Saturday, September 18–19

SF Symphony: Garrick Ohlsson Plays Brahms

📍 Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave · 7:30 PM

Saturday, September 19

"Valley of the Queens": Monthly LGBTQ+ History Walking Tour

📍 Meets at SW corner of Geary and Powell St., Union Square · 1:00 PM

Monday, September 22 (then Sept. 25 & 27)

SF Opera: Simon Boccanegra — Season Resumes

📍 War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave · 7:30 PM

Wednesday, September 23

Tenderloin Museum 11th Annual Gala: "A Decade Plus One"

📍 The Green Room, San Francisco War Memorial, 401 Van Ness Ave · 5:00 PM

Saturday, September 26

Fantastic Negrito with the SF Symphony

📍 Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave · 7:30 PM

More from the Neighborhood

Live on Larkin Free Street Festival Continues Every Second Saturday Through December

<cite index="121-10,121-11,121-12">Live on Larkin — a series of free street events on Larkin Street between Ellis and Eddy — runs every second Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. through December 2026, with…

Tenderloin Museum Gallery: "Indigenous Forever" Open Through October 3

<cite index="78-3,78-4">"Indigenous Forever," a gallery show of paintings by Adrian Arias honoring the strength and continuity of Indigenous cultures, is on view at the Tenderloin Museum through October 3, 2026, and is…