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The San Francisco Standard’s most-read stories of 2023

From sex in robotaxis to the doom loop and Bob Lee’s killing, these are the most popular stories from The Standard in 2023.

San Francisco locals have bragged about their debaucherous exploits while being passengers in robotaxis. — An Illustration generated by the artificial intelligence program Midjourney depicts two people making out in an autonomous vehicle. San Francisco locals have bragged about their debaucherous exploits while being passengers in robotaxis. | Source: Midjourney

By The Standard StaffPublished Dec. 29, 2023 • 10:58am

San Francisco Standard readers devoured a wide variety of stories in 2023. We combed through the data to see which articles were read the most. In a year of shocking crimes, technological leaps, political fights and business flight, Standard readers dug into stories about Bob Lee’s killing, people having sex in robotaxis, the city’s drug crisis, Burning Man and more.

Catch up below with the stories you might have missed. Here are the top 20 articles, ranked by total engaged reading minutes.

1. Downtown San Francisco Whole Foods Closing a Year After Opening (April)

2. San Franciscans Are Having Sex in Robotaxis, and Nobody Is Talking About It (August)

3. Uber, Doordash Drivers Spell Out the New Rules of Tipping (April)

4. Who Are Khazar Momeni, Dino Elyassnia? Glamorous Couple Linked to Bob Lee Killing (April)

four people talk in a corridor — Relatives of Bob Lee's accused killer, Nima Momeni, appear at a court hearing in June in San Francisco. Momeni's mother, Mahnaz Tayarani, is at left with his brother-in law, Dr. Dino Elyassnia, and his sister, Khazar Momeni. | Source: Justin Katigbak/The Standard

5. Nightlife Pros Agree: Tipping $1 for a Cocktail Makes You a Cheapskate (March)

6. Bob Lee Killing: What Role Did Drugs Play in SF Slaying of Tech Exec? (April)

7. These Doctors Pushed Masking, Covid Lockdowns on Twitter. Turns Out, They Don’t Exist (published December 2022)

8. Over 50,000 To Lose Homeowners Insurance as Two More Insurers Exit California (August)

9. They Spent Millions To Live on an Island in San Francisco With No Grocery Store. Who Are They? (December)

A man sits inside a fancy condo. — Jack Lease sits inside his two-bedroom condo inside the Bristol on San Francisco's Yerba Buena Island. | Source: Garrett Leahy/The Standard

10. Burning Man 2023: Why People Are Offloading Their Tickets Way Below Cost (August)

11. Angry San Francisco Giants Fans Rail Against Beer Costs, Parking Fees, BART as Attendance Drops (May)

12. Nordstrom to Shutter Both Downtown San Francisco Stores, Citing Difficult Conditions (May)

13. ‘Who the Hell Is Running This Place?’ Newsom Takes Aim at San Francisco Homelessness at Dreamforce (September)

14. The Killer of a Skateboarding Legend Went Unnamed for Years. Could Deaths Have Been Prevented? (January)

A skateboarder on a halfpipe with onlookers above; old wooden shacks nearby. Black and white photo. — Skateboarder Jake Phelps skates a halfpipe at the Hunters Point ramp in San Francisco in 1986. | Source: Courtesy Thrasher Magazine

15. Former Square CTO Bob Lee Stabbed to Death in Downtown San Francisco (April)

16. Joe Montana Among San Francisco Residents Threatening To Sue City Over Sewage-Damaged Homes (August)

17. California DMV Now Offers ‘Digital’ Driver’s Licenses. How To Get Your ID on Your Phone (September)

18. San Francisco ‘Cleaned Up’ Streets Ahead of APEC. But How and What, Exactly, Did It Do? (November)

19. San Francisco Hired Him as a Building Inspector. Then He Inspected His Own Home (November)

20. Footage Appears To Show Suspect Stabbing Bob Lee With a Kitchen Knife (April)

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