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California vows to fight Trump's mail-in voting order

State officials are preparing for another legal fight before the midterms.

News

California&#x27;s vote-by-mail system faces new uncertainty less than three months before the midterms after the Supreme Court on Monday allowed <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="President Trump&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" data-vars-content-id="8c7fd8f6-8d27-4eb1-9aca-2f3e7e35107b" data-vars-headline="California vows to fight Trump&#x27;s mail-in voting order" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_self">President Trump&#x27;s</a> <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="executive order" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/25/trump-mail-in-voting-order-blocked" data-vars-content-id="8c7fd8f6-8d27-4eb1-9aca-2f3e7e35107b" data-vars-headline="California vows to fight Trump&#x27;s mail-in voting order" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/25/trump-mail-in-voting-order-blocked" target="_self">executive order</a> restricting <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="mail-in voting" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/23/mail-in-voting-trump-pew-poll" data-vars-content-id="8c7fd8f6-8d27-4eb1-9aca-2f3e7e35107b" data-vars-headline="California vows to fight Trump&#x27;s mail-in voting order" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/23/mail-in-voting-trump-pew-poll" target="_self">mail-in voting</a> to move forward.Why it matters: The decision could upend the midterms, but the legal battle is far from over and the exact effect on California&#x27;s upcoming elections remains unclear.

Cole Valley's pie contest is serious neighborhood business

From Swedish cheese to spiced apple, locals put their best pies forward at the night market.

Neighborhoods

I can now add &quot;pie judge&quot; to my résumé, though I&#x27;m not sure my first assignment prepared me for just how seriously one can debate a crust.State of play: I joined the judging table at the second annual pie-baking competition during the Cole Valley night market last week.

More summer concerts could be coming to Golden Gate Park

A new deal lets the Outside Lands promoter extend the summer festival season.

More big music festivals may be coming to Golden Gate Park each summer thanks to an agreement that would let the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Outside Lands" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2026/05/13/outside-lands-food-2026-original-joes-balboa-cafe-perrys-san-francisco" data-vars-content-id="0fe6be36-a427-4659-be5d-1fc63ed9cb62" data-vars-headline="More summer concerts could be coming to Golden Gate Park" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2026/05/13/outside-lands-food-2026-original-joes-balboa-cafe-perrys-san-francisco" target="_self">Outside Lands</a> promoter host additional concerts through 2029.Why it matters: City leaders see the shows as a way of generating revenue for parks and local businesses while building on the success of Outside Lands. But for some westside residents, it could also mean more weeks of traffic, noise and road closures.

San Francisco's coolest new cafés offer more than coffee

From vinyl listening lounges to flower workshops, these cafés are built for lingering.

Things to Do

San Francisco&#x27;s trendiest new cafés are offering much more than a caffeine fix. These four newcomers are turning coffee runs into all-day experiences.Why it matters: As people seek more community-focused <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="third spaces" data-vars-click-url="https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/the-rise-of-third-places-reshapes-how-americans-spend-summer-days/" data-vars-content-id="c5751390-e34f-42fe-84d1-6fcae8a1902e" data-vars-headline="San Francisco&#x27;s coolest new cafés offer more than coffee" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/the-rise-of-third-places-reshapes-how-americans-spend-summer-days/" target="_blank">third spaces</a>, a new crop of cafés is pairing high-quality drinks with experiences that encourage people to stay awhile.

Inside San Francisco's off-leash dog culture war

San Franciscans have found a new thing to fight about.

Culture

What started as one San Francisco resident&#x27;s frustration with off-leash dogs has evolved into <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a site" data-vars-click-url="https://sfdogtracker.com/" data-vars-content-id="3ed38bc5-1377-4cd8-8877-7eff460c5e64" data-vars-headline="Inside San Francisco&#x27;s off-leash dog culture war" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://sfdogtracker.com/" target="_blank">a site</a> for reporting such sightings and a heated online fight over leash etiquette and public space.State of play: The SF Dogtracker site is linked on laminated signs that its creator, who goes by the alias Sean Layne, has hung near parks across the city.<ul><li>Layne told Axios he launched it in February to force city officials to take leash enforcement more seriously amid rising dog bite incidents and a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="lax dog culture" data-vars-click-url="https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1mj9x5v/epidemic_of_entitlement_has_sf_dog_culture_gone/" data-vars-content-id="3ed38bc5-1377-4cd8-8877-7eff460c5e64" data-vars-headline="Inside San Francisco&#x27;s off-leash dog culture war" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1mj9x5v/epidemic_of_entitlement_has_sf_dog_culture_gone/" target="_blank">lax dog culture</a> that encourages <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="rule-breaking behavior" data-vars-click-url="https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/sf-dog-owners-breaking-law-restaurants-20381936.php" data-vars-content-id="3ed38bc5-1377-4cd8-8877-7eff460c5e64" data-vars-headline="Inside San Francisco&#x27;s off-leash dog culture war" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/sf-dog-owners-breaking-law-restaurants-20381936.php" target="_blank">rule-breaking behavior</a>.</li></ul>

We visited San Francisco's AI-run store so you don't have to

At Andon Market in the Marina, an AI named Luna runs pricing, hiring and sales.

Step inside <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Andon Market" data-vars-click-url="https://andonlabs.com/blog/andon-market-launch" data-vars-content-id="8ade8a4f-d35d-4666-97f3-9f82277f1ada" data-vars-headline="We visited San Francisco&#x27;s AI-run store so you don&#x27;t have to" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://andonlabs.com/blog/andon-market-launch" target="_blank">Andon Market</a> in the Marina and it looks like any other boutique with mediocre home decor. Look closer and the boss running the store isn&#x27;t in the room.The big picture: This Anthropic-backed, first-of-its-kind retail experiment is part store and part social experiment, designed to test whether an AI model can run a business.

San Francisco drivers respond: To tow or not to tow?

Many locals say they tow immediately, while others wait before escalating.

Few parking missteps trigger backlash in San Francisco faster than a car blocking someone&#x27;s driveway.We asked readers to weigh in: When someone&#x27;s blocking your driveway, do you tow or give the driver a chance to move? And street parkers, what&#x27;s fair game?<ul><li>Here&#x27;s what you said.</li></ul>

How to keep your dog safe during coyote pupping season

Pupping season brings more sightings and defensive behavior.

Environment

It&#x27;s peak pupping season in San Francisco, which means more visible and territorial coyotes guarding their baby-filled dens.Why it matters: Pupping season can lead to more sightings — especially in and around parks — and tense encounters with dogs, which coyotes see as potential threats.

Driver sentenced in West Portal crash that killed family of four

A judge issued probation and temporarily revoked the 80-year-old driver's license.

The driver responsible for killing a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="family of four" data-vars-click-url="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/18/crowd-mourns-family-members-killed-west-portal-crash/" data-vars-content-id="8f089736-1e74-4422-83bc-ad43a856cb9c" data-vars-headline="Driver sentenced in West Portal crash that killed family of four" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/03/18/crowd-mourns-family-members-killed-west-portal-crash/" target="_blank">family of four</a> at a bus stop in West Portal two years ago was sentenced Friday — closing a case that left a neighborhood and family shattered.State of play: 80-year-old driver Mary Fong Lau, who pleaded no contest to four counts of felony vehicular manslaughter, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="was sentenced" data-vars-click-url="https://sfstandard.com/2026/03/20/mary-lau-sentenced-probation-west-portal-crash/" data-vars-content-id="8f089736-1e74-4422-83bc-ad43a856cb9c" data-vars-headline="Driver sentenced in West Portal crash that killed family of four" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://sfstandard.com/2026/03/20/mary-lau-sentenced-probation-west-portal-crash/" target="_blank">was sentenced</a> to two years probation, 200 hours of community service and six days of jail time, per local news <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/mary-fong-lau-west-portal-family-crash-sentence-22080184.php" data-vars-content-id="8f089736-1e74-4422-83bc-ad43a856cb9c" data-vars-headline="Driver sentenced in West Portal crash that killed family of four" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/mary-fong-lau-west-portal-family-crash-sentence-22080184.php" target="_blank">reports</a>.

The trinket trade boom is taking over San Francisco

What began as an experiment in the Outer Sunset has now taken off across the city.

<figure><img alt="A trinket exchange box in San Francisco." height="450" id="76e69924-29ac-40e3-96d5-ee8a2f3d1948" src="https://images.axios.com/6xUpR04Sbar7FC_PJ7QXDMZU1VQ=/2026/03/05/1772746864702.gif" width="800"/><figcaption>The Keychange Exchange on Pine Street. Photo: Nadia Lopez/Axios</figcaption></figure>Across San Francisco, colorful, decorated boxes stuffed with trinkets are popping up on street corners and on sidewalks, turning ordinary blocks into miniature trading posts.The big picture: From the Outer and Inner Sunset to Noe Valley and the Castro, small trinket trade boxes stocked with everything from rings and rubber ducks, keychains, baseball cards, tiny ceramic animals, patches and custom pins are inviting strangers to take a tiny treasure and leave one behind.

North Beach gets custom pizza box trash cans

The new trash cans aim to reduce litter from oversized pizza boxes.

Pizza lovers in North Beach now have pizza box-shaped trash cans to dump their boxes in. State of play: Waste management provider Recology San Francisco and the city&#x27;s Department of Public Works installed two of the specialized receptacles last week to keep people from jamming empty pizza boxes into existing bins or leaving them in the street.

Neighborhoods

Cole Valley's pie contest is serious neighborhood business

SF farmers market shoppers are obsessed with croissants and kimchi

1 fun thing: Nominate your neighbor

More summer concerts could be coming to Golden Gate Park

1 photo to go: Back to 1956