Breitbart News – San Francisco hotels are demanding millions of dollars from the city to compensate them for damage incurred while housing the homeless under a municipal government program launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the program, known as “Shelter-in-Place” (SIP), hotels were used to move homeless people off the streets for fear of spreading the coronavirus in tent cities.
Ironically, as COVID became better understood, officials began recommending against clearing homeless encampments, because the virus spread less easily outdoors.
However, the practice of housing the homeless in hotels was embraced by Democratic officials in state and local government, though it was expensive, as a temporary way of tackling an ongoing homeless crisis.
Now, with tourism picking up again, hotels in San Francisco, which were commandeered by the SIP program, are demanding that the city compensate them for the damage that some temporary homeless residents caused.
Hotel Union Square’s clean-up bill was steep — $5.6 million to repair rampant smoke damage, broken light fixtures, mold and other problems.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday:
As city supervisors consider shelling out millions to settle the dispute over damages at one of San Francisco’s hotel homeless shelters, tax payers could be on the hook for millions more to settle similar claims from other hotels that participated in the program …
It’s still unclear how many claims the city may face, but with more than two dozen hotels participating with the program at its peak city officials could soon be contending with more — particularly since some SIP hotels only recently began winding down operations.
The city considers the program a success …
Suspect arrested after allegedly hijacking San Francisco bus
Nov 26, 2022
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco police arrested a suspect who allegedly hijacked a Muni commuter bus, assaulted the driver and hit several other vehicles Friday night.
Officer Robert Rueca of the San Francisco Police Department said the suspect, who was not identified, was detained after the bus stopped.
Officers responded to a report of a carjacking at 7:53 p.m. at Cortland Avenue and Mission Street in the Mission District, police said.
The suspect assaulted the driver, drove the bus and “struck multiple vehicles” before stopping at 19th and Guerrero streets, police said.
There were no passengers on the bus at the time, police said.
An ambulance responded to the scene and the bus driver and the driver of another vehicle were treated for what police said appeared to be “non-life-threatening” medical conditions.
Muni is San Francisco’s network of buses, light rail Metro trains, streetcars and cable cars, according to the Muni website.
