Susan Freinkel

Her job is to remove homeless people from SF’s parks. Her methods are extraordinary

Susan Freinkel is a San Francisco-based journalist and author of “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story” and &#8220;American Chestnut: The Life, Death and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree.” Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, and Smithsonian. This story grew out of reporting she did for her Substack newsletter about Golden Gate Park, <a href="https://goldengatepark.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1,017 Acres: Life in the Park</a>.

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Susan Freinkel is a San Francisco-based journalist and author of “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story” and "American Chestnut: The Life, Death and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree.” Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, and Smithsonian. This story grew out of reporting she did for her Substack newsletter about Golden Gate Park, <a href="https://goldengatepark.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1,017 Acres: Life in the Park</a>.

Susan Freinkel is a San Francisco-based journalist and author of “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story” and &#8220;American Chestnut: The Life, Death and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree.” Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, and Smithsonian. This story grew out of reporting she did for her Substack newsletter about Golden Gate Park, <a href="https://goldengatepark.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1,017 Acres: Life in the Park</a>.

Join Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, and UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons for a vital conversation on how the Bay Area's unique blend of tech innovation and world-class research drives global medical breakthroughs.

Test: Live In-Person Partay

The San Francisco Unified School District faces massive budget shortfalls and declining enrollment following a turbulent year marked by leadership changes and halted plans to close schools.

Two members of the Board of Education — former educator Phil Kim and Deputy City Attorney and SFUSD parent Jaime Huling — join The Standard’s senior editor Annie Gaus and politics reporter Han Li for a live discussion about the school district’s challenges and the path forward. The guests will also answer questions submitted by the audience.

Fixing SF schools with Board of Education leaders

Robert Saleh was the off-season's first step, what comes next?

Kawakami & Lombardi Talk 49ers

San Francisco voters approved Proposition K, the ballot measure that closed the Great Highway to cars to create a park, but the election inflamed tensions between neighbors who were both for and against it. Supervisor Joel Engardio represents the Sunset, where the Great Highway resides, and joins The Standard’s political reporters Han Li and Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez to talk about the park’s future and how the neighborhood may heal after the contentious election. We’ll take your questions during the livestream.

Great Highway’s future with Supervisor Joel Engardio

Powering Global Medical Research from the Bay Area

The Daniel Lurie era: What we know so far

Mayor Daniel Lurie campaigned on bold promises to transform City Hall, and now he’s beginning to make his mark. Join The Standard's politics team to discuss his first moves in office and what they could mean for the future.

What went wrong for 49ers in 2024 — and how they can fix it in 2025

For all the things that went wrong for the 49ers in 2024, their rookie draft class was not one of them. Building around those players and Brock Purdy can help speed up the 2025 retool.

Brooke Jenkins on public safety and Democrats’ next steps

Following national election losses, the Democratic Party is searching for answers on how to win back voters. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, a tough-on-crime Democrat, won resoundingly in her first full-term bid. She joins The Standard’s Han Li and Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez to discuss how Democrats should change course, her strategies to enhance public safety, and more.

The future of San Francisco's Mid-Market neighborhood

Join The Standard's Jillian D'Onfro and Kevin V. Nguyen as they discuss the evolution of one of San Francisco's hardest-hit neighborhoods with Simon Bertrang, executive director of SF New Deal; Jeannie Kim, CEO of Bridge Hospitality Management Group; and Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. They'll be broadcasting live from the historic Hibernia building and will be taking your questions!

The future of San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood

Is fine dining consuming San Francisco?

Join Sara Deseran, The Standard's food editor, along with Laurence Jossel, chef-owner of Nopa, and Ryan Cole, CEO of Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group (7 Adams and Trestle), for a talk about the tectonic shift in the city's restaurants — and, more important, why we might be at risk of losing our sweet spot: the mid-level.