Something strange is happening near Park Presidio, and no, it's not just the fog rolling in.

Residents in the Inner Richmond have been reporting a persistent, unexplained humming noise that kicks in during the evening hours and drones on through the night. Multiple households have confirmed they're hearing it, so we can safely rule out a collective descent into madness — for now.

The leading theory among neighbors is nighttime construction, which would track. San Francisco's infrastructure is perpetually in some state of being torn up and half-reassembled, and utility work often gets pushed to overnight hours to minimize traffic disruption. Park Presidio is a major corridor, so it wouldn't be shocking if some crew is jackhammering into the earth at 11 PM while the rest of us try to sleep.

But here's the thing: nobody seems to actually know what it is. And that's the part that should bother you.

If the city or a utility company is running overnight operations that are audible across a residential neighborhood for multiple consecutive nights, residents deserve a heads-up. A notice. An email. A carrier pigeon. Something. It's a basic courtesy that local government routinely fails to extend to the people footing the tax bill.

This is a small story, sure. Nobody's losing their home or getting mugged. But it's a perfect microcosm of how San Francisco operates: things happen to residents, not with them. Transparency shouldn't be reserved for major policy fights. If you're making noise that keeps an entire neighborhood up at night, you should have to say who you are and what you're doing.

If you're in the Inner Richmond and you've heard the hum, you're not crazy. But if you want answers, good luck getting them from City Hall without filing a formal complaint — and maybe a few follow-ups.

Welcome to San Francisco, where even the mysteries come with bureaucratic friction.