Hey there, San Francisco. 

Happy Monday. 

What a beautiful day in the city! Temperatures were in the upper 60s and could reach the 70s by Wednesday and Thursday. Time to pull out those shorts, if you got ‘em. 

The day was not so stellar, unfortunately, for Olympic figure skater and Bay Area native Vincent Zhou, who tested for Covid and had to withdraw from the men’s single competition. 

From his hotel room, Zhou posted an emotional, 5-minute long Instagram video announcing the news. 

“It seems pretty unreal that of all people, it happened to myself. I have been doing everything to stay free of Covid since the start of the pandemic,” said Zhou, who was expected to compete for a medal in the single’s event. “The enormity of the situation, the pain of it all, is pretty insane.” 

Over the weekend, Zhou did help the US win a silver medal in the figure skating team competition. But as Chronicle reporter Ann Killion writes, “For Zhou, the Games won’t go on. They are over, due to a nasal swab.” 

And with that…onto some more news… 

Top Story: Police brutality case started today

On Monday, attorneys delivered opening remarks in what’s believed to be the city’s first case against an on-duty SFPD officer for using excessive force. 

The case involves Officer Terrance Stangel, who was responding to domestic violence call and repeatedly struck a man, Dacari Spiers, with his baton. 

As the Chronicle’s Megan Cassidy writes, “Jurors will be left to weigh whether Spiers was assaulting or comforting his girlfriend before police arrived, whether he was confused or combative when officers approached him and, ultimately, whether Stangel’s use of force was reasonable.” 

Besides being the first use-of-force trial of its kind in San Francisco, the case received even more attention last week after an investigator for the District Attorney’s office said she was told to withhold information from her police counterparts. That claim, as we wrote about last week, prompted Police Chief Bill Scott to pull out of an agreement with District Attorney Chesa Boudin, which gave the DA’s office the lead on police-involved incidents. 

It’s a lot to take in, but an important case to follow. For more, check out Mission Local reporter Joe Eskenazi’s recap from today. 

“Money-motivated” crimes 

The Chronicle’s data team says that “money-motivated” crimes (like vehicle theft and robberies) across the 10 wealthiest neighborhoods in the city have increased 7.8% from 2019 to 2021. Meanwhile, in the poorest neighborhoods, the Chronicle says those crimes decreased 15.4% during that time. 

As the Chronicle’s Susie Neilson writes: “Crime media researcher Pamela Mejia thinks this difference may explain why, in a recent poll conducted by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, 8 in 10 survey respondents believed that crime had worsened in recent years.” 

“For better or for worse, for worse mostly, there’s a sense that in neighborhoods where crime happens all the time, it’s treated as business as usual,” Mejia said. “But when crime starts happening in places where that’s not the case…The response is different.”

Quick bits: Bite-sized news stories

• 🏠 Construction for the 54-unit townhome project in the Portola neighborhood is nearing completion, and as Chronicle reporter JK Dineen writes, it’s the largest housing development for the area in 50 years. (Chronicle) 

• 💰 Recology spent almost $500,000 on lobbying efforts in San Francisco in 2021, which was “far more” than the waste management company spent in the previous five years combined, the SF Standard’s Michael Barba writes. The increase came after Recology admitted last year that it had been overcharging customers. (SF Standard) 

• 👀 Apparently, the new boutique hotel in the Castro (named The Hotel Castro) is run by the venture-backed hospitality group called Kasa Living, which operates its properties without front desks and, in its rooms, have built-in “decibel meters” to make sure guests don’t get too noisy. (Bold Italic) 

Food news: News about food and drink 

• 🍹 After its “Island Club” shut down early in the pandemic, Woods Beer and Wine Co. will soon open another taproom on Treasure Island. This time it’ll be located in the former US Navy Administration Building, which owner Jim Woods hopes becomes a Ferry Building 2.0 of sorts. (Chronicle / SFist) 

• 🙌 The popular sourdough bagel pop-up Midnight Bagel is set to open a “small, no-frills” shop in the Inner Sunset in the coming months, Eater reports. (Eater) 

What else I’m reading: 

The Tenderloin faces many challenges—and a lack of open space is a big one (Examiner) 

‘A bit of a fumble’: Another Planet Entertainment apologizes for abrupt nature of Castro Theatre announcement (SFGATE) 

Newly Opened Automat in SF Combines Childhood Whimsy and Gourmet Goodness (Bold Italic)

And finally…

Mission Local had a nice profile on Sunday on Bernal Cutlery employee, Tim Ferron, a butcher turned professional knife sharpener. 

“There’s two different things when it comes to sharpening,” Ferron said. “There’s honing and then there’s actual sharpening.”

Bernal Cutlery recommends a professional sharpening every 6-8 months, but that can vary depending on your usage, Ferron said. 

As for cutting board no-no’s, Ferron said, “We try to get people away from, you know, plastic boards. Bamboo is actually really bad material … And glass. God forbid it’s still out there.”

That’s all for today! Thanks so much for reading y’all and I’ll see you back here tomorrow! - Nick B.