Former tenants of Vallie Brown, the incumbent District 5 supervisor running to keep her office in next week’s election, sent her a cease-and-desist letter over her statements that they had not been making rent payments. “She was shocked to recently find out that you publicly accused her (and the other tenants of the Fillmore Street building that you and your cohorts evicted) of not having paid rent in years and refusing to pay rent,” a tenant wrote in a letter to Brown. Through her own attorney, Brown has apologized. Mission Local | San Francisco Chronicle

Separately, tenants facing evictions from landlords preparing for the statewide rent caps are getting a reprieve thanks to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency declaration. Hoodline

“I’ve owned 10 bars and restaurants in SF for more than a decade, and I need you all to hear me: We are dying. North Beach has 36% storefront vacancies. In the Castro entire blocks are nearly empty. Three major restaurants closed their doors in South Beach last month. Walk down once bustling Union Street on a Thursday night at 8 p.m., and it’s as creepy as a zombie movie. How’d things get so bad? It’s a boomtime, right? People blame greedy landlords and millennial-buying habits, but I don’t. I blame City Hall.”

Bar owner and small business advocate Ben Bleiman penned a searing op-ed about the state of small business in San Francisco. KQED

“People shouldn’t have to get mental health care by luck. There should be treatment on-demand for every person out here.”

The Office of Mayor London Breed and Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney are closer to striking a deal over reforming the mental health care system after negotiations stalled for a time. If an agreement can be reached, they would avoid duelling ballot measures next year.
San Francisco Examiner

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing will change a policy that currently prevents homeless pregnant women from immediately being provided housing by year end. San Francisco Examiner

If her appointment weeks before the election hasn’t created enough controversy, interim District Attorney Suzy Loftus will now be in a position to support or oppose overturning the manslaughter conviction against Mayor London Breed’s brother, Napoleon Brown. Loftus said she opposes resentencing. San Francisco Examiner

Outside spending in the district attorney race has reached a new high. San Francisco Examiner

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved increasing the 1990s-era Jobs-Housing Linkage Fee, a move that will generate $400 million for affordable housing in a decade. The fee is paid by developers when building office space to offset the cost of affordable housing. Supervisor Matt Haney, who authored the legislation, initially proposed doubling the fee from $28.57 per square foot to $69.60. The supervisors approved a rate of $52.20. San Francisco Examiner

We’re No. 2! We’re No. 2!

San Francisco has the second costliest daily commute of the top 100 large cities in the country, according to a study by online lending company LendingTree. NBC

San Francisco has the second highest density of homes with solar panels, according to a new analysis by data science company Cape Analytics that used artificial intelligence and aerial imagery. Axios