Good Morning, San Francisco

Hazy and cool out there — 54°F with a high barely cracking 58°F, so that mid-layer is doing another full shift today. The biggest story this morning isn't the weather, though — it's Nancy Pelosi making a phone call that looks a whole lot more like a chess move than a favor.

Pelosi's Chan Endorsement Is Strategic Demolition, Not Sentimentality

Nancy Pelosi endorsed Connie Chan in San Francisco's congressional primary, and if you believe the narrative that this was some spontaneous, last-minute decision, I have a very expensive transit project to sell you. Pelosi sat on her endorsement for six months — through the entire primary season — and dropped it precisely as polling showed Chan pulling even with Saikat Chakrabarti for the second slot in the top-two race. That's not indecision. That's timing.

Here's what makes the move worth scrutinizing: Chakrabarti, the former chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, represents something the Democratic establishment viscerally dislikes — a progressive insurgent with enough grassroots energy and tech-world crossover appeal to actually win. A Pelosi endorsement of Chan at this exact moment doesn't just boost Chan. It potentially boxes Chakrabarti out of the general entirely. In a top-two primary system, killing someone's second-place finish is as good as beating them head-to-head. Maybe better — you don't even have to debate them in the fall.

None of this means Pelosi's endorsement is illegitimate. She's a private citizen with every right to back whoever she wants. But let's drop the "aw shucks, she just decided" framing. This is a woman who counted House votes in her sleep for decades. She knows exactly what a last-minute endorsement does to a close three-way race, and she made the call anyway. The question San Francisco voters should ask isn't whether Pelosi likes Connie Chan — it's why the city's most powerful political figure waited until the precise moment her endorsement could function as a kill shot.

And speaking of power plays, that endorsement didn't land in a vacuum. It arrived alongside a flood of tech PAC money aimed squarely at Chakrabarti — which brings us to the next story.

The Rundown

City Hall & Politics

Same donors, every battlefield. If you're wondering who's actually steering San Francisco's June 2 primary, the answer fits on a cocktail napkin. Chris Larsen, Garry Tan, Jeremy Stoppelman — the same small circle of tech donors keeps appearing on federal filings across the congressional race, the city's dueling tax measures, and even the statewide fight to kill a union-backed billionaire tax. This isn't a broad grassroots movement; it's a handful of very wealthy people playing every board simultaneously. You can agree with their positions — and on some fiscal issues, we do — while still being deeply uncomfortable with the concentration. Democracy works better when the donor list is longer than a group text.

Tech & Business

SpaceX is going public — sort of. SpaceX filed its S-1 with the SEC on May 20, registering Class A shares for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker "SPCX." Before you get excited: the dual-class structure means Elon Musk retains ironclad control of the board regardless of how much stock the public buys. SpaceX qualifies as a "controlled company" under the filing, which exempts it from standard independent-board requirements. The price and offering size? Left blank. So you'll be able to own a piece of the rocket company — you just won't get a say in where it flies. For a publication that champions free markets, we'd love to see dual-class structures get a lot more scrutiny from investors who are writing very large checks for very little governance.

Culture & Food

Bone broth is the new boba in Noe Valley. A lovely SF Standard portrait of 24th Street catches Noe Valley mid-metamorphosis — the tell being what teenagers are carrying out of storefronts. Boba shops have given way to bone broth spots, which is either a sign of wellness culture's total victory or proof that San Francisco's kids are just built different. Small Frys has been selling tiny shoes at 3985 24th since 1984, the Saturday farmers market still fills the old church lot, and the neighborhood's commercial spine remains alive — just recalibrating, as it always does. The market works. Even on 24th Street.

Festa Italiana takes over Washington Square. North Beach's only Italian street festival returns June 6–7, free, with 13-time world pizza toss champ Tony Gemignani doing his thing, an accordion sing-along, tarantella dancing, and Sunday's 105th running of the Statuto Race. If you've never watched a grown man in an apron launch pizza dough into the air competitively, you're missing one of the city's great spectacles.

Union Street Festival hits 48. Cow Hollow shuts down six blocks of Union Street on June 6–7, 11am to 7pm, free. Food vendors, craft brews, live screen printing, and — the real draw — Sunday's Waiters Race at noon, where servers sprint with loaded trays. It's pure chaos and deeply entertaining.

Juneteenth on the Waterfront, with a catch. Sunday, June 7, the Ferry Building stacks Juneteenth on the Waterfront, the HEAD WEST marketplace, and the farmers market into one big free day celebrating Black-owned businesses. The catch: BART is single-tracking the Transbay Tube all day. If you're coming from the East Bay, budget extra time or take the ferry — which, given the location, is actually the perfect move.

Sports

The Wemby Tax is real, and the Knicks might be live. Victor Wembanyama is doing things basketball hasn't seen — 15-plus threes and 15-plus blocks in a playoff series is a stat line from science fiction — and the Spurs opened as roughly 4.5-to-5-point favorites in Game 1 of the Finals. But there's a case that the betting market is charging a "Wemby premium" that overvalues spectacle and undervalues New York's grinding, physical style. The Knicks aren't sexy. They might be dangerous. If you're placing a wager, at least consider the dog.

One More Thing

This weekend you can eat bone broth in Noe Valley, watch a pizza toss in North Beach, cheer on sprinting waiters in Cow Hollow, and celebrate Juneteenth at the Ferry Building — all for free. Say what you will about this city, but when San Francisco decides to throw a party, it doesn't charge cover.