News For Reasonable People

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned Tuesday morning, less than a week after she admitted to WW she had been moonlighting as a consultant for an embattled cannabis company whose owners were major political donors to her campaign. “Over the last few days, I have given myself some very hard feedback, spent time reflecting, and I have determined that the best thing I can do to support the...

San Francisco lost another major retailer to rising crime and a lack of foot traffic on Wednesday after Nordstrom announced it was closing two stores.  NBC's Miguel Almaguer said during the "Today" show on Thursday that the store's closing was putting a focus on crime and the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Lack of foot traffic has to be the leading cause o...

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Monday evening confirmed that a security guard who was arrested after allegedly shooting a young person at a downtown Walgreens last week has been released and will not face any charges.  Police arrested the guard, 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, following the shooting reported at 6:33 p.m. last Thursday evening in the area of Market and Fourth streets. ...

The takeover of First Republic by JPMorgan Chase adds another complication to a local real estate market already hampered by high interest rates, difficulties in financing and low occupancy. And for Bay Area real estate professionals, the San Francisco-based lender’s collapse also means the loss of a trusted partner that was critical in helping get deals done, putting mortgages within reach for re...

Last month a Whole Foods supermarket in San Francisco announced it was closing a little more than a year after it opened. Unlike a lot of closures that happen in the city, the company made it pretty clear in this case that conditions on the street were to blame. The company’s own statement said the closure was to “ensure the safety of our team members.” Nevertheless, last week the San Francisco Ch...

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is set to approve another $9 million in damage claims filed by owners of hotels leased by the city as emergency shelters during the height of the Covid pandemic, a grim subtext for what will be a mostly routine meeting.  Supervisors are also expected to pass a handful of resolutions that reflect the current state of some of the city’s important communities, i...

Nordstrom is planning to close both of its Downtown San Francisco stores, choosing not to renew its lease inside of Westfield Mall, the store confirmed Tuesday. It will also close the nearby Downtown Nordstrom Rack. The Nordstrom Rack on Market Street's last day of business will be July 1, and the Nordstrom inside Westfield Mall is slated to close at the end of August. The company's chie...

The pending closure of REI’s Pearl District store underscores the ongoing struggles for retail businesses in Portland’s core, with retail availability stubbornly high three years after the pandemic hit. More than 7% of retail and restaurant spaces in downtown Portland were available for lease in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest data from the commercial real estate firm CoStar...

Ousted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott pleading with him to stop sending migrants to the Windy City. In the letter posted to Twitter on Sunday, Lightfoot urged Abbott to reconsider 'this dangerous and inhumane action.' She sympathized with the border towns in Texas dealing with the issue, but said it won't be resolved by passing on the re...

Workers at a San Francisco Whole Foods Market were routinely threatened with weapons before the crime-plagued store announced it was shuttering after a little more than a year in business. Records of 568 emergency calls to the Market Street store over 13 months showed chaotic incidents, including vagrants throwing food, yelling, engaging in fights and attempting to defecate on the floor, according...

Around lunchtime on California street this Thursday, downtown San Francisco appeared to be busy and bustling. But look a little closer, and you'd see the signs all around: "Retail Space for Lease," one read. Right now, roughly 30% of all downtown office space is vacant in San Francisco. According to data from Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis, it was just 3% in 2019 before the pandemic....

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has listed a San Francisco office tower once valued at $300 million, but now expected to generate offers at about 80 percent less. The U.S. unit of the Tokyo-based bank has put its 22-story glass-and-stone tower at 350 California Street in the Financial District up for sale, the Wall Street Journal reported.  The building was valued at $300 million in 2019. Bids are...

Sadly, another longtime retailer will depart from Union Square. Anthropologie will close the doors of its 880 Market St. store on May 13. As first reported by SF Gate, the closure leaves the lifestyle retailer without an outlet in the city. Its website points shoppers to its Berkeley and Corte Madera locations.  The departure is another blow to the city’s famed shopping district, which has lost a...

Another big box retailer is closing its downtown San Francisco location.  Office Depot's 33 Third Street store is permanently closing, according to signs recently posted at the building, and first reported by the San Francisco Business Times. It's unclear when the store will close, and management declined SFGATE's request for comment.  The store is located on the ground floor of an...

A California business leader blamed the staggering rise in store thefts and attacks on retail employees on the state’s soft-on-crime Prop 47 policy. Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers’ Association (CRA), told The Post brazen thefts — which has caused one Target location to lock down its entire inventory — have soared over the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. The act, known a...

Since 1983, Zell’s Café has served brunch classics in Southeast Portland’s Buckman Neighborhood. But soon, the restaurant will have its final day of operation. The breakfast spot announced its looming closure in a social media post on Friday, April 21. It also notified customers with a sign posted outside of a restaurant. “Zell’s Café will be permanently closing on May 2nd,” the sign said. “We wou...

Questions mounted after REI announced plans last week to shut down its flagship Portland store at year’s end. The outdoor gear company said negotiations with its landlord had broken down after it sought to make “significant investment” in the space on Northwest Johnson Street in the Pearl District. In an email to customers, it cited increased crime. But an employee later told Oregon Business magaz...

The Biden administration is attempting to punish people who’ve paid their bills on time. That’s the result of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s 2023 alterations, set to take effect on May 1st. The new Biden-enforced federal rule will levy an additional fee on those with high credit scores, in an effort to subsidize those with riskier credit looking to purchase houses. Those with credit scores o...

A long-time staple in Northwest Portland just closed its doors, citing financial issues. The move comes just after the Food Front Co-Op celebrated 50 years of serving the neighborhood. The closure of Food Front comes after its board of directors announced financial troubles as well as layoffs in recent weeks. On Monday, there was shock and sadness from customers and employees outside the store. On...

For 20 years, Gregg Donovan, aka. the “Hollywood Ambassador,” has been greeting tourists in front of the famous theaters, museums and shops on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame – one of L.A.’s most popular landmarks. Lately, however, he says business has slowed because people are fearful for their safety. “It’s gone from bad to worse,” Donovan told KTLA. “I hear tourists say, ‘It’s not the Walk of Fame, it...

San Francisco’s Union Square will soon have another empty storefront. Anthropologie, a retailer chain that specializes in women’s clothing and accessories, is closing its location at 880 Market St. on May 13, according to the Anthropologie website. The 880 Market St. location has been a staple of the Union Square retail space, and originally opened there more than two decades ago.  Spokespeople fo...

In another blow to downtown Portland real estate, the owner of Jackson Tower, a landmark building that overlooks Pioneer Square, has defaulted on a loan from JPMorgan Chase, court filings show. Jackson Tower Partners LLC, the owner of the 12-story beaux arts office building in the 800 block of Southwest Broadway, borrowed $11.5 million from JPMorgan Chase in 2018, and missed its first loan payment...

A Target store in San Francisco has locked its entire product range behind security glass as crime in the city spirals out of control. A video posted on TikTok on April 20 shows all of the items locked away from customers. According to geotagged imagery, some products at the store on Folsom Street were behind glass since at least October of last year, WNCT reported. The city's residents conti...

The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has ordered state police and the California National Guard to partner with local law enforcement agencies to tackle San Francisco's drug problem and disrupt fentanyl trafficking. The move comes after city officials requested state and federal assistance to tackle the issues of open-air drug dealing. The Governor announced the plan on Friday just days...

As police departments report struggles with retention and staffing, even blue cities are increasing funding in an effort to attract more recruits. San Francisco recently announced an increase to their starting salary for new officers, putting them at more than $100,000 a year at entry level. The board of supervisors also approved retention bonuses to keep new officers, as the San Francisco Police...