Threatening to halt funding for San Francisco State University’s foreign language training programs, the federal government pressured SFSU into abruptly ending its 14-year Confucius Institute collaboration with China that provided Chinese language classes, summer camps, cultural events and teacher training for thousands in the Bay Area. U.S. officials have pressured 13 universities to close their Confucius Institutes, warning that the schools were exposing themselves to undue Chinese government influence or even espionage efforts.

Los Angeles Times

From the San Francisco Homeless Project:

Setting the bar for its fourth annual SF Homeless Project, The San Francisco Chronicle sent 36 journalists across The City to highlight the homeless epidemic. The individual stories, collected over 24 hours, are compiled into one extensive multimedia presentation. San Francisco Chronicle

Despite The City's biennial homelessness count showing an estimated 30% increase in homelessness citywide, the number of people experiencing homelessness at Golden Gate Park has plummeted from 313 to 83. San Francisco Examiner

Mission Local conducted its own homelessness count and found 261 homeless individuals and 70 tents in the Mission. Mission Local

A Mental Health Board review last September found that female residents renting low-income property management company Jordan Apartments feared for their safety, filing complaints about maintenance issues, health hazards and bullying by management. Last month, the board passed a resolution urging that The City develops a system providing oversight and accountability for such buildings. San Francisco Examiner

It has been suggested since 1996 that the dilapidated Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant St. be demolished. Sordid conditions that include exploding toilets, sewage leaking out of the ceilings, rat infestations and asbestos had the Public Defender's office move out years ago. Now, Supervisor Matt Haney is calling for The City to begin taking steps to shut down the building — an uphill battle, given that its jail population must plummet first.

SF Weekly

“These are hotels, pure and simple. California law defines rentals over 30 days as housing.”

After Planning Department leaders called into question the business model of luxury apartment rental company Sonder using a loophole in The City’s short term rental law, Supervisor Hillary Ronen called for the Budget Legislative Analyst to issue a report on the impacts of “corporate rentals.” The move is the first step to create legislation to mitigate any negative effects the business may wreck on San Francisco.

San Francisco Examiner

Supervisor Shamann Walton introduced the resolution “Vision Zero on Homicides and Violence resolution,” calling on the mayor and supervisors to identify a violence prevention coordinator for each district. Each coordinator would work with various city departments and community organizations to reduce homicides and violent crimes throughout San Francisco. As of July 19, Walton said, there were 55 shootings resulting in 17 injuries in the Bayview alone. Six supervisors have signed on his resolution as cosponsors. SFBay | San Francisco Examiner

A string of violent crimes against Chinese seniors led Supervisor Gordon Mar months ago to ask police for demographic data on crime victims. On Tuesday, he called San Francisco Police Department’s delay in releasing the information unacceptable. SFPD spokesperson David Stevenson released a statement saying that the department had already started its response. San Francisco Examiner

Fifty-two years ago, the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic opened its doors as America’s first free medical clinic. The clinic’s operator HealthRIGHT360 told SF Weekly it will close both the Haight Ashbury clinic and Tenderloin Health Services due to reduced demand and consolidate them into a new Integrated Care Center on Mission Street and Van Ness Avenue. HealthRIGHT360 will station a medical van for patient outreach by September, and the Homeless Youth Alliance will use the site of the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic for its needle exchange and drop-in hours several days a week.

SF Weekly | SFGate

After the battery of a second Lyft-owned Bay Wheels electric bicycle in the Lower Haight appeared to ignite, the tech behemoth took its fleet off the streets while it investigates the incident. The first reported incident occurred Saturday in South of Market. A witness told the San Francisco Examiner that green fluid had dripped from the battery to the concrete below. Members of the Board of Supervisors have called for a transparent investigation. “At this point, this seems to be an unperfected technology that is not ready for prime time,” one supervisor said.

San Francisco Examiner

After pursuing a legal case against the San Francisco Police Department for several years and playing a part in revealing the backlog of hundreds of untested sexual assault kits, sexual assault survivor Heather Marlowe held a press conference to announce her petition to the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that SFPD systemically failed to investigate her rape and other rapes. The Office of the City Attorney called the petition “meritless” in a statement, noting that “every court that has looked at this lawsuit has agreed that City employees did not violate Ms. Marlowe’s constitutional rights.”

San Francisco Examiner