Still gotta nuke high-end retail.
By Chronicle readers June 26, 2026
Layla Salwan, of Canada, right, watches as her brother Waleed Salwan, center, and father Wael Salwan play a game of ping pong ball in Union Square in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
Union Square has a new vibe! I’m not a paid promoter or connected with any organization or program. I just stumbled upon the plaza while shopping and was surprised by all the new activities and resources available to the public.
I saw kids playing badminton, ping-pong, corn hole and other games. There was music, people dancing, artists painting. A posted schedule listed weekly programs and activities for people of all ages. All clean, safe and free!
I was so impressed, I returned the next day for a juggling lesson and a Latin dance and music celebration.
As a long-time city resident, I had been saddened by the decline in recent years of our once vibrant downtown due to COVID, homelessness and abandoned business fronts. To see this joyful and well organized effort at revival touched my heart and, oh yeah, improved my juggling. All this free programming made possible by the Office of Mayor Daniel Lurie, SF Parks and Rec and other economic development organizations.
I encourage kids, families and seniors to visit, learn more and participate in this festive rejuvenation.
Regarding “San Francisco police cut off Flock access after improper searches for federal, out-of-state agencies,” (Bay Area/San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, June 18): SFPD’s discovery of improper searches of its Flock license-plate data should not be treated as proof that the system is broken. This is what it looks like when oversight is working.
The department audited the use of its data, found that outside agencies had searched it in ways that violated the rules, and cut off that access. That is what San Franciscans should expect from any agency using powerful technology: clear limits, routine checks and consequences when limits are crossed.
Some will point to this episode as a reason to abandon license-plate readers. That would be a mistake. San Francisco has seen a dramatic decline in car break-ins, retail theft, and other property crimes, and data-driven policing tools are part of that progress.
The answer is not to reject useful technology, but to govern it carefully. SFPD deserves credit for checking third-party users, identifying a problem, acting on it, and being transparent with the public.
Stu Collins, San Francisco
Greg