Junyao Yang
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Articles by Junyao Yang
Westside voters, once strongly against Sunset Dunes park, flipped to save it
Voters in San Francisco’s Westside neighborhoods, who voted overwhelmingly against transforming the Great Highway into a coastal park two years ago, have come around: In Tuesday’s election, residents in both the Sunset and Richmond flipped to embrace Sunset Dunes, where they go to walk their dogs, run along the coast or teach their kids to ride bikes. Brandon Martin was one of them. Martin, who lives in the Outer Sunset near the Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard, did not support Prop.
Sunset Buzz: Rusty Ladle wins best chowder in San Francisco
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. Last month, John Lindsey, chef of the Sunset’s Rusty Ladle, snatched the “best chowder” crown — quietly literally, a bread crown 10-inch in diameter — from long-time San Francisco chowder luminaries like Sotto Mare and Boudin. “I feel like I just woke up from a dream,” Lindsey wrote on Instagram.
Prop. G on track to fail. Sunset Dunes park will likely stay a park.
See full election results here → Proposition G, the ballot measure to bring vehicles back to the Upper Great Highway on weekdays, is on track to fail. Partial results show the proposition is trailing with 63% voting no. The measure was put on the ballot to reopen the Great Highway to cars after neighborhood residents gathered more than 15,000 signatures. Since then, it has been an uphill battle for the Prop.
People We Meet: Raymond Robinson is behind the wheel all day
When Raymond Robinson was growing up in the Bayview on Bridgeview Drive, six Muni drivers lived on the same block. One drove the diesel coaches, another ran the cable car, and another had been one of the first operators for the new Muni Metro trains in the ‘80s. When those Muni operators came home from work,“they had this proud walk that, ‘I’m doing something for the community, for the city,’” said Robinson, now 62.
Sunset Buzz: Is the Inner Sunset the new North Beach?
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. Inle Burmese Cuisine, the only Burmese restaurant in the Inner Sunset, closed its doors on Sunday. Co-owner Morgan Sue said that Inle is on break while the owners deal with health issues.
Inner Sunset apartment complex sold 3 years after fire. Tenants are ‘totally in the dark.’
Tenants of a 28-unit apartment complex in the Inner Sunset left their home in a flurry when a fire broke out in 2023 in a hardware store next door and spread to their 100-year-old building. It has stood empty since then, despite efforts from tenants and city officials to move renovations along. Then, in June, the building was quietly sold to a new owner. The handful of tenants who retain the right to return to their old units were not notified about the sale until Mission Local reached out.
We asked every San Francisco politician: Should Dem Party Chair Nancy Tung step down?
Mayor Daniel Lurie Mayor of San Francisco Declined to answer the question. Back ↑ District 1 Supervisor and Congressional Candidate Connie Chan Board of Supervisors Elected in 2020 and re-elected in November 2024 Under Nancy Tung, the San Francisco Democratic Party has lost all credibility. I stand with SFWPC in calling on Chair Tung to resign. Survivors deserve leaders who stand with them when it matters, not when it becomes politically convenient. Accountability must begin with her resignation.
Where S.F. candidates stand: Every answer from our 2026 Q&A series.
This November, San Franciscans will weigh in on 30+ candidates, 10 ballot measures, and a host of other regional and state propositions. But fear not: Mission Local is covering it all. We have the most in-depth election reporting in San Francisco, covering every race up and down the ballot. We're doing weekly questionnaires of every major candidate, diving deep into the money behind the election, and analyzing what it all means. We think that's critical to a city like this.
Sunset Buzz: Farewell to poke, hello to Yemeni Cafe
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. The Yemeni brothers at KJ Produce, an Inner Sunset grocery store, are trying to “make the block happen” on Fifth Avenue. “It’s been so neglected compared to Ninth Avenue,” said Yahya Munsar, one of the brothers running the corner store. Munsar opened the grocery store with his brother and father on Firth Avenue and Irving Street in 2022.
Tale of two Sunsets: Irving Street booms while Taraval, Noriega tread water
Businesses in the Inner Sunset are reaching record-high sales volume driven by a boom of restaurant openings, according to local merchants and city sales tax data. The Inner Sunset corridor has recovered from the pandemic faster than other neighborhoods in the city, the data shows — for most of the year, sales tax revenue is growing and above its pre-pandemic levels. There’s evidence walking around the area.
Mayor, supervisors drop Manny Yekutiel in wake of new sexual assault allegations
Manny Yekutiel, the frontrunner for District 8 supervisor, was accused of sexual assault again this morning. The mayor, three city supervisors and several others have dropped their endorsements of Yekutiel so far today. “When I endorsed Manny in September, I believed he was the best candidate to represent District 8. My endorsement is a statement of my confidence in someone’s character and leadership, and in light of the additional accounts reported today I am withdrawing it.
Video: Large pickup blows stop sign, smashes 4 parked cars in the Sunset
A speeding pickup truck ran a stop sign and struck a parked car early Saturday in San Francisco’s Parkside neighborhood, triggering a domino-like series of collisions that, ultimately, left four parked cars severely damaged. The dramatic predawn incident was caught on video. Video shows a truck blowing through a four-way intersection at Santiago Street and 28th Avenue. After a loud bang, the driver backs up slightly and drives away.
Sunset Buzz: Artists to lose studio after new landlord doubled rent
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. Two artists at Tight Quarters, a studio space at 1306 12th Ave, received a notice in early September bearing bad news: The new landlord, Cogs and Dogs Development LLC, who bought the building in June, is raising the rent of their 200-square-foot space to $1,850, nearly double their current rate.
This tree loves you, too
This November, San Franciscans will weigh in on 30+ candidates, 10 ballot measures, and a host of other regional and state propositions. But fear not: Mission Local is covering it all. We have the most in-depth election reporting in San Francisco, covering every race up and down the ballot. We're doing weekly questionnaires of every major candidate, diving deep into the money behind the election, and analyzing what it all means. We think that's critical to a city like this.
S.F. promised to slow cars on eight Sunset streets. Five years later, only one is done.
Five years after being approved by the city, a “District 4 Family Neighborway Network” to make eight residential streets in the Sunset safer for pedestrians and cyclists has only finished one of them, on Ortega Street. Ortega got new stop signs, crosswalks, and speed cushions. Construction on Kirkham Street is still ongoing, while design and planning for 41st Avenue has been paused until late 2026. A lack of funding has put the other five on the shelf indefinitely.
Sunset Buzz: Oakland Mama’s Boy to bring NY-style slices to Inner Sunset
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. Mama’s Boy Pizza, the Oakland-based pizzeria that opened in 2023, is bringing its signature New York style slices to San Francisco, Mission Local has learned. Things are still in their early stages: The for-lease sign was just taken down last week and the co-owners are starting to work on permitting.
Sunset Buzz: Oakland Mama’s Boy to bring NY-style slices to Inner Sunset
1 day ago To begin to understand how a “super” El Niño winter could punish the Southern California coast, the historic wooden boardwalk on the Long Beach Peninsula may just offer a glimpse at what’s to come. Days of intense waves fueled by Hurricane Marie far away in the Pacific left several sections of the …
A Richmond nonprofit served neighbors for 46 years. SFUSD almost took away its lease to develop the land.
For decades, the busy courtyard at the Richmond Neighborhood Center has been filled with seniors doing Tai Chi, toddlers playing in the preschool playground and volunteers sorting through fresh produce to hand out to neighbors. Directors at the nonprofit learned in August that the San Francisco Unified School District, which owns the land at 741 30th Ave, planned to start soliciting developers in September to gauge development costs, said Cliff Yee, the nonprofit’s chief strategy officer.
Sunset Dunes vs. Great Highway: Pro-park side outraising opponents 7-to-1
Supporters of Sunset Dunes park who are running a campaign to defeat Proposition G, the November measure that would reopen the Great Highway to cars, have raised seven times as much as their opponents, according to campaigns finance filings. The No on G campaign has raised $279,500 so far in 2026, according to the filings. The bulk of those donations came from just eight people who gave recently, in August, and largely after park supporters held their campaign kickoff on Aug. 10.
San Francisco Democrats are richest local party, per capita, in California
The San Francisco Democratic Party has raised more money, per resident and registered Democratic voter, than any other local party in California as it enters the 2026 election season, according to campaign finance data. The local party, known as the Democratic County Central Committee, has raised $850,100 in donations this year, as of Sept. 1. That’s about $256,000 per 100,000 registered Democratic voters in a city with just over 530,000 of them, according to California Secretary of State data.
Sunset Buzz: Prop. G supporters say they want safer streets. Pedestrian safety group was ‘horrified’
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. For years, the yellow campaign signs with black text that covered the Sunset were synonymous with the fight to reopen the Great Highway to cars. That was the design for materials opposing Prop. K in 2024, which closed the roadway in exchange for Sunset Dunes park, and for the recall of former Supervisor Joel Engardio who advocated for the park in 2025.
S.F. Dems overwhelmingly vote to oppose billionaire tax, defying state party
The San Francisco Democratic Party, as predicted, voted 17-4 on Wednesday evening to oppose the upcoming California billionaire tax — and in so doing made the rare choice to buck the state Democratic Party, which had narrowly endorsed the proposition in early August. The vote was expected and fell along a neat progressive/moderate divide. The local chapter took the step two months ago to alter its bylaws to allow itself to diverge from the state party’s endorsement on California ballot measures.
S.F. Dems endorse Manny Yekutiel in tense meeting despite sexual assault allegation, plea from accuser
The San Francisco Democratic Party endorsed Manny Yekutiel in the District 8 race on Wednesday evening after two rounds of indecisive votes in a fraught meeting that, at times, elicited cries of “Shame!” from outraged attendees. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, in the third round, flipped his position from supporting rival Gary McCoy to Yekutiel, handing Yekutiel the sole endorsement from the San Francisco Democratic Party.
Prop. G, to return cars to Great Highway, will remain on the ballot, judge rules
The proposition to reopen the Great Highway to cars will stay on the ballot despite a legal challenge to remove it, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled on Friday morning. The lawsuit, filed in June by the park advocacy group Friends of Sunset Dunes, challenged the legality of a signature-gathering petition circulated by park opponents, arguing that the petition contained “objectively false and/or misleading statements.” The petition gathered over 15,000 signatures and Prop.
S.F. Dems alter rules to vote on billionaire tax, potentially defying state party
When a San Francisco neighborhood has a Mission Local reporter, it means someone is there. We're following new housing projects proposed on your block, keeping tabs on what your district supervisor is up to at City Hall, and letting you know when longtime businesses close (and new ones open). When big news breaks, we already know the context. Most neighborhoods don't have that. Yours could. That's what Mission Local is building.
Trailer party
When a San Francisco neighborhood has a Mission Local reporter, it means someone is there. We're following new housing projects proposed on your block, keeping tabs on what your district supervisor is up to at City Hall, and letting you know when longtime businesses close (and new ones open). When big news breaks, we already know the context. Most neighborhoods don't have that. Yours could. That's what Mission Local is building.
Sunset Buzz: ‘preschool dads’ to open new restaurant on Taraval
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. Abanico Coffee Roasters, the Mission-born cafe, is opening at 424 Irving St. near Fifth Avenue in the Inner Sunset. Photo by Junyao Yang on Aug. 12, 2026. Abanico Coffee Roasters, a Mission-born coffee roaster since 2021, is coming west to the Inner Sunset.
Sunset Buzz: 'preschool dads' to open new restaurant on Taraval
Coffee 1 day ago Meet The Espresso Machine That Does It All Vita Daily - Showit User • 1d Hot cappuccino before work. Iced latte in the afternoon. Cold brew for that 3 p.m. slump. If your coffee order changes with your mood, De’Longhi’s … Cocktails 1 day ago Farmers Market Martini allrecipes.com - Natalie Gravois • 1d This farmers market martini is freshened up with a tomato basil puree. It’s incredibly refreshing, and a perfect cocktail for summer parties.
Reopening the Great Highway would cost $9.8M and up to $1.9M annually, controller says
When a San Francisco neighborhood has a Mission Local reporter, it means someone is there. We're following new housing projects proposed on your block, keeping tabs on what your district supervisor is up to at City Hall, and letting you know when longtime businesses close (and new ones open). When big news breaks, we already know the context. Most neighborhoods don't have that. Yours could. That's what Mission Local is building.
District 8 candidates all want to build, build, build
Even in Noe Valley, it seems that all conversations about housing come back to the Marina Safeway. As supervisor, how would you have voted on that proposal? That’s the question put to one of the four candidates running to replace the termed-out Supervisor Rafael Mandelman on Monday evening.
Stanley Lui took over the family diner at 21. Now, he’s ready for his next act.
Like many small business owners, Stanley Lui has a love-hate relationship with his cafe. As a kid, Lui can say for sure, he hated it. Lui’s parents, both immigrants from Southern China, bought the restaurant in the early 1990s. Almost everyday at 5:30 a.m., they would get up and wake one of the three kids to go to the restaurant that day. “There were days where I’d pretend to be really deeply asleep so they wouldn’t take me,” Lui said.
Sunset Buzz: New vintage shop, indoor playground, and Lomo Libre closes
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. Tight Knit Vintage & Modern, a vintage shop in the Richmond, will open a second location at 1327 B Ninth Ave. in the Inner Sunset, next to Arizmendi Bakery.
Dinner outside
When a San Francisco neighborhood has a Mission Local reporter, it means someone is there. We're following new housing projects proposed on your block, keeping tabs on what your district supervisor is up to at City Hall, and letting you know when longtime businesses close (and new ones open). When big news breaks, we already know the context. Most neighborhoods don't have that. Yours could. That's what Mission Local is building.
Snug
When a San Francisco neighborhood has a Mission Local reporter, it means someone is there. We're following new housing projects proposed on your block, keeping tabs on what your district supervisor is up to at City Hall, and letting you know when longtime businesses close (and new ones open). When big news breaks, we already know the context. Most neighborhoods don't have that. Yours could. That's what Mission Local is building.
Stale but Stable: Staleness-Adaptive Trust Regions for Stabilizing Asynchronous Reinforcement Learning
Abstract Asynchronous reinforcement learning improves throughput by decoupling rollout generation from optimization, but staleness is an inevitable byproduct compounded by policy lag, engine delays, and mixture-of-experts routing. From a trust-region perspective, this mismatch is critical: training-inference divergence governs approximation error in finite-horizon bounds, whereas PPO clipping only gates sampled outward updates, acting as a sampled surrogate rather than a full-policy constraint.
‘Not just lanterns and dragons’: Mural depicts S.F. Chinatown through a child’s eye
There’s no shortage of activity on Hyde Street near Civic Center on a recent Tuesday morning. Workers sweep the sidewalk. Delivery drivers rush by on their motorcycles. The No. 27 bus hauls morning commuters to the Mission. Kayan Cheung-Miaw, a comic artist and community organizer, wants to take people’s minds away from the bustle, just for a minute. Her mural “This Asian American Life,” is the most recent in a series of works commissioned by the Asian Art Museum for the Lui Art Wall on Hyde Street.
‘Not just lanterns and dragons:’ Mural depicts S.F. Chinatown through a child’s eyes
There’s no shortage of activity on Hyde Street near Civic Center on a recent Tuesday morning: Workers sweep the sidewalk. Delivery drivers rush by on their motorcycles. The 27-Bryant bus hauls morning commuters to the Mission. Kayan Cheung-Miaw, a comic artist and community organizer, wants to take people’s minds away from the bustle, just for a minute.
A Zinc-Coordinated Glycopolymer for Inhibiting Bacterial Toxins in Management of Acute Pneumonia Click to copy article link Article link copied!
Cite Jump to ExpandCollapse Biological and Medical Applications of Materials and InterfacesJune 12, 2026 A Zinc-Coordinated Glycopolymer for Inhibiting Bacterial Toxins in Management of Acute Pneumonia Click to copy article linkArticle link copied! Siyuan Huang Siyuan Huang Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials (Ministry of Education), Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China...
Natalie Gee bows out of race for District 4 supervisor
Natalie Gee, the District 4 candidate who finished second in the June race, announced today that she will not run against Supervisor Alan Wong in the November election, leaving the incumbent with a mostly clear field to retain his seat on the Board of Supervisors. Up to the day of the June 2 election, Gee was planning to continue her race through November. But after Wong’s sweeping victory in the race with 46 percent of first-choice votes, Gee reconsidered.
Alan Wong the candidate didn’t win the election. Alan Wong, Mayor Lurie’s ally, did.
When Mayor Daniel Lurie went door-knocking with Supervisor Alan Wong two weeks before the election, he told Wong and a dozen of volunteers, “I like to just win by a lot, so no one thinks about running against you this November.” That big win materialized on Tuesday night: Wong easily beat his opponents, winning a near-majority in a five-way race off the bat and, after ranked-choice, dominating the No. 2 Natalie Gee 70-to-30.
Sunset supervisor Alan Wong handily beating opponents to stay in seat
District 4 supervisor Alan Wong has all but certainly won his race out in the Sunset: He routed Natalie Gee, his closest rival, by some 50 points — 72.3 percent to Gee’s 27.7. “Seventy-two percent!” yelled Chasel Lee, a Wong supporter, almost immediately after he arrived at the candidate’s election party with Adam Thongsavat, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s board liaison. Wong was a Lurie ally, and Lurie went door-knocking with him weeks before the election.
People We Meet: Martha Ehrenfeld is the perfect amount of nosy
For the last few years, Martha Ehrenfeld, 60, has been living in the Inner Sunset on borrowed time: In 2021, her wife, Carla, announced that she wanted to move back to the east coast to be closer to family. Ehrenfeld, the longtime president of the Inner Sunset Park Neighbors association, had just finished working on the renovation of the Goldman Tennis Center in Golden Gate Park. She wasn’t ready to go. “Give me five years,” Ehrenfeld asked her. She did.
‘Not a NIMBY, not a YIMBY:’ Albert Chow says that’ll drive City Hall crazy
Mission Local followed District 4 candidates on the campaign trail. Read about other candidates: Alan Wong, Natalie Gee. The Sunset, in Albert Chow’s estimation, has become a red light district. And he wants to put a stop to it. “Every other street, you see another red light,” said the candidate for District 4 supervisor at a recent rally, referring to the L-Taraval project. “Do we need these red lights?” “No,” responded some 30 campaign volunteers.
See How They Run: Mayor Lurie is popular. Can he transfer it to Alan Wong?
Incumbent Supervisor Alan Wong has a not-so-secret weapon in the District 4 supervisor race: Mayor Daniel Lurie. On a recent Saturday, Wong and Lurie walked down 42nd Avenue in the Sunset, trying to drum up votes for Wong on June 2. Residents were happy to open their doors when they saw it was the mayor knocking. One man, peeking from his second-floor window, hurried downstairs to meet Lurie. Delight in meeting the mayor didn’t necessarily equate agreeing with him, though.
Meet the District 4 candidates: What criticism have you received that is unfair?
Skip to content Enter the code sent to your email Email address Enter your password Sign in by entering the code we sent to , or clicking the magic link in the email. Gift this article
Landlord arrested, charged in Outer Sunset murder of Eric Bigone
A 68-year-old man, Philippe Chagniot, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly killing Eric Bigone, 58, an Outer Sunset resident, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Bigone was shot and killed at around 5:30 a.m. on May 17, as he was leaving for work. Chagniot was transported to San Francisco County jail and booked for murder, according to SFPD. Chagniot’s family owns the house where Bigone lived on 46th Avenue. He had lived in the house since 2023, according to public records.
S.F. landlord arrested, charged in Outer Sunset murder of tenant Eric Bigone
Philippe Chagniot, the suspect, is a dentist. Eric Bigone, the victim, had told friends of past issues with his landlord.S.F. landlord arrested, …
David Lee is the Westside’s forever candidate: Everyone knows his name, but what’s his game?
This is the fifth time David Lee has run for office in San Francisco. He has not yet won. He has not yet, to be fair, come close to winning. But his presence in past races has determined the winner. And, as he runs for District 4 supervisor in June, his candidacy could be eventful, regardless of where he eventually places. Lee, 57, first ran for office in 2012 when he threw his hat in the ring for the District 1 supervisor seat. He did this two more times, in 2016 and 2020.
Sunset Buzz: Stern Grove lottery, trash can democracy, and black sesame creme brûlée
“Sunset Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Sunset. Got news? Send us tips at junyao@missionlocal.com. Steer clear of 19th Avenue if you can It’s Memorial Weekend, and 19th Avenue will be closed again for repaving. I know, bad timing.
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