Fifth & Mission

An ex-girlfriend says she was sexually assaulted by the Windsor mayor. Meanwhile, some residents of the town are launching a recall bid. Foppoli released a statement denying the allegations and attacking lawmakers who have called for his resignation. One of those now calling for him to step down? His older brother. Reporters Alexandria Bordas and Cynthia Dizikes have the latest on the story they broke last week. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Listener alert: This episode contains details of alleged sexual assault that may be upsetting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hours after The Chronicle published an investigation into Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office opened a criminal probe. It was a response to the accounts of four women who said Foppoli sexually assaulted them in incidents from 2003 to 2019. Foppoli, through his attorney, denied the allegations. The Chronicle's story also prompted more than a dozen local elected leaders to call for Foppoli to resign. The reporters who broke the story, Alexandria Bordas and Cynthia Dizikes, discuss the latest. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four women have told The Chronicle that winery owner and Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli isolated and assaulted them after nights of drinking. The incidents span from 2003 to 2019. Foppoli denies the allegations. Reporters Alexandria Bordas and Cynthia Dizikes discuss their findings and how they reported the story. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Listener alert: This episode contains details of alleged sexual assault that may be upsetting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With vaccinations growing, Gov. Newsom delivered staggering news on Tuesday: California plans to lift most pandemic restrictions and fully reopen on June 15. Unless something changes, that means the end of the color-coded tier system for counties. Reporters Erin Allday and Aidin Vaziri discuss what this means for schools, for events like concerts and for mask-wearing — and whether there's still a chance of a backslide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If beloved Blowfish Sushi closed in December, how can people still order sushi from a restaurant of the same name in the same space? Not to mention from a Japan-based restaurant famous for its $180 sandwiches. Reporter Janelle Bitker has been following this fishy story. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cardinal's NCAA title adds to the remarkable legacy of coach Tara VanDerveer. Her team is the most consistently successful in Bay Area sports, but this was their first title in 29 years. Sports columnists Ann Killion and Scott Ostler talk about Stanford's decades of success and frustration. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are few more obvious tokens of the pandemic than the masks covering everyone’s faces. But despite the rising number of vaccination rates, Californians shouldn’t expect to tear them off any time soon. Health writer Erin Allday joins to explain why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have we entered a new era for LGBTQ politicians? Reporter and columnist Tony Bravo talks about the groundbreaking rise of gay and transgender leaders, the response to progress by forces on the right, and how veteran politicians are reflecting on what has changed — and what has not. Plus: Rachel Swan breaks down the tension over responding to anti-Asian crimes. Is a focus on punishment for hate crimes the right approach? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Related: Tom Ammiano: Kiss My Gay Ass | Total SF podcast pod.fo/e/c244f Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But there aren’t enough shots. Reporters Catherine Ho and Nanette Asimov discuss what the Bay Area can expect as eligibility opens for those 50 and over. Plus: Alexei Koseff talks about the nearly $8 million Bay Area lawmakers squeezed out of the Newsom administration to help the region’s poorest residents get vaccinated. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new poll shows opponents of California Gov Gavin Newsom have a lot of work to do. A strong 56% of likely voters oppose the recall, compared to 40% backing it. Meanwhile, Newsom’s job approval rating among likely voters is 53%, virtually unchanged from the before the pandemic that ignited anger against him. The Chronicle's Joe Garofoli explains the numbers, how the pandemic is at the center of recall momentum, and how leading Democrats aren't likely to run to replace Newsom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People are posting inoculation selfies and beginning to restart their lives. But what about those who haven't yet got their shots? Reporter Ryan Kost on Fear of Missing Out. Plus: Erin Allday on President Biden's plea for continued mask mandates and rising fears of a fourth surge of the pandemic. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lenore Estrada's Three Babes Bakeshop lost its customer base when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her efforts to distribute leftover pies led to her co-founding SF New Deal, which has paid 184 restaurants to provide 1.83 million meals to the hungry. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Related: Extra Spicy | A New Deal for Restaurants pod.fo/e/1f66c Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting April 1, all Californians 50 and older will be eligible for a shot, and anyone 16 and older will qualify on April 15. Health reporters Catherine Ho and Erin Allday talk about the big news, which doesn't mean everyone will be able to get an appointment immediately. Also, there's new concern about the P.1 variant of the coronavirus, which has been fueling a deadly surge in Brazil. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's enough office space for lease in the city to fill 11 Salesforce Towers. Can it be turned into housing? Chronicle reporter Roland Li explains why that's a lot harder than it sounds -- and also gives some alarming statistics on plunging San Francisco tourism dollars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland will launch one of the country's biggest guaranteed income programs this spring. The idea is to give 600 residents – all of them low-income parents of color – a monthly payment of $500 a month for at least 18 months with no strings attached. Chronicle reporter Sarah Ravani talks about why the idea is spreading, and how supporters are looking for proof that basic income can boost people’s health and increase racial and gender equity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Education reporter Jill Tucker discusses the tweets attacking Asian Americans that have prompted broad calls for the resignation of San Francisco school board member Alison Collins. She posted the tweets in 2016, but they resurfaced at a time of deep pain over racism against the Asian American community. Yet Collins has said her tweets were misinterpreted, and she has not deleted them. What happens next for her — and a school board facing numerous challenges and controversies? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The stunning scenery is a given, but pretty much everything else about California's beloved national park remains up in the air. Park officials are still deciding whether to cap daily visitors due to the coronavirus or allow everybody in at once. Chronicle reporter Kurtis Alexander previews what to expect on a visit. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's happening: The Bay Area is moving toward post-pandemic life. San Francisco, Marin and Santa Clara counties are poised to join San Mateo with fewer restrictions. And while virus variants are coming our way, the news looks good so far as vaccinations grow. Reporters Trisha Thadani and Erin Allday talk about what's reopening and what could still set us back. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the nation reels from the Atlanta mass shooting, Vox’s Cecilia Lei, an Asian American Journalists Association president, speaks with Heather Knight about how the rise in anti-Asian attacks has affected her and her family, and about how journalists and news organizations can better cover this type of violence. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chronicle's Raheem Hosseini tells the story of Jeremy Puckett, a Northern California man who spent 19 years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit. He was exonerated and released days before California sheltered in place for the coronavirus pandemic. But while the pandemic made his return to society more difficult, he used skills he'd learned in prison to find his way. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He's covered the Zodiac, the Unabomber and others. Now, Kevin Fagan turns his attention to a forgotten serial killer who preyed on San Francisco's gay community in the '70s for The Chronicle's new true-crime miniseries, The Doodler. He talks to Demian Bulwa about the investigation and plays an excerpt from Episode 1. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Follow The Doodler: sfchronicle.com/doodler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health reporter Erin Allday joins hosts Heather Knight and Demian Bulwa to talk about life in the coronavirus pandemic one year after the Bay Area's shutdown order. We hear from listeners, medical workers and former Fifth & Mission host Audrey Cooper. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Maya Kotas of UCSF talked to Fifth & Mission from New York last May when she was volunteering to help at the epicenter of COVID-19. Now, she talks again to the Chronicle's Sarah Feldberg about the last heartbreaking year. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Related: A San Francisco Doctor at the COVID-19 Epicenter: pod.fo/e/1b483 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supervisor Ahsha Safai is backing Mayor London Breed's legislation to let those makeshift structures in parking spaces remain forever as a way to boost struggling small businesses. He also discusses his idea to remake the school board and why the city should purchase more hotels for homeless people. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As society reopens and vaccinations spread, COVID-19 is on the run. But as Chronicle reporter Annie Vainshtein reports, health experts say the Bay Area may see a fourth pandemic surge — thanks to more contagious variants, the relaxing of rules and spring break. Also, sports writer Ron Kroichick talks about fans returning to Giants and A's games, and whether that's a good idea. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For coverage of Gov. Gavin Newsom's State of the State speech Tuesday night, Fifth & Mission presents The Chronicle's It's All Political podcast, hosted by Joe Garofoli. Sacramento reporters Alexei Koseff and Dustin Gardiner help break down key points of Gov. Newsom's defense of his response to the coronavirus pandemic as he likely faces a recall. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a year of distance learning, young kids in San Francisco public schools now have a date to return. Meredith Dodson is the co-founder of Decreasing the Distance, a group of families that's been pressing for the safe return to schools. She talks to Heather Knight about the plan, its highlights and its problems. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was March 8, 1971. While the nation watched Muhammad Ali fight Joe Frazier, eight activists broke into a small FBI office near Philadelphia. The files they stole and leaked to the press would change America, revealing the scandalous operation known as Cointelpro. Now, 50 years later, one of the burglars — who lives in San Rafael — has come forward and identified himself to The Chronicle's Matthias Gafni. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporter Tatiana Sanchez tells the story of a two-year separation and a remarkable reunion for San Francisco schoolteacher Kenny Kruse and Yar Zar Min of Myanmar. Their improbable relationship defied a dizzying series of obstacles, including Myanmar's criminalization of homosexuality, the Trump travel ban, coronavirus, and the coup in Yar Zar's native country. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health reporter Catherine Ho talks about a big change in the state's vaccine program that will steer 40% of the supply to eligible people in the roughly 400 lowest-income ZIP codes. The change seeks to smooth out what has been an uneven distribution of vaccines that's benefited wealthier residents. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco and other counties entered the red tier on Wednesday, reopening indoor dining, gyms and museums. But is that smart with just a fraction of the population vaccinated and variants taking hold? Chronicle reporters Aidin Vaziri and Steve Rubenstein discuss the city's first day in the red tier and why it has some doctors concerned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco prepares to open indoor dining and other activities as the city moves into the red tier. Are we heading into a yo-yo phase of opening up and shutting back down, or does vaccine distribution mean the worst of shelter in place is finally coming to an end? Health reporter Erin Allday talks about what to expect. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporters Alexei Koseff and Jill Tucker talk about California's multibillion-dollar reopening plan, which could mean a windfall for schools if they meet certain dates and requirements. The agreement comes as schools and teachers' unions face pressure from parents, and Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a possible recall election. But will it actually speed things up? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two boys who were forced out of a Bay Area high school over what appeared to be a blackface photo have filed a $20 million lawsuit, saying the selfie was years old and they were actually wearing acne medication. It's the latest emotional dispute over racism on campus and the responsibility of schools. Reporter Matthias Gafni and columnist Justin Phillips talk about the case and the necessary conversation it raises. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city's 215 hotels are usually packed nightly. But a year into the pandemic, half of them are temporarily closed, the rest mostly empty. S.F. Hotel Council CEO Kevin Carroll talks about how a key industry can rebound. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporter Janelle Bitker talks about the conversations she's been having with Bay Area Asian Americans who have been victims of coronavirus-related racism, including a recent series of brutal physical attacks. They say they are too often scapegoated and cast as foreigners in their own home. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Read Janelle Brown's story: sfchronicle.com/asianattacks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legendary poet, publisher and City Lights Books founder, who died Tuesday at 101, is remembered by Jerry Cimino of the Beat Museum and others, and we hear him recite from "A Coney Island of the Mind" on the Datebook podcast in 2018. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States has surpassed 500,000 dead in the COVID-19 pandemic, a figure that roughly matches the entire population of Sonoma County. The milestone comes amid steady progress in the Bay Area as vaccinations take hold, Reporter Erin Allday talks about that and new worries about research showing a dangerous variant spreading in California, a mutation that may be both more contagious and more serious. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city's 148-year-old cable cars have been out-of-service for nearly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has no timeline for when they'll return. Chronicle columnist Heather Knight explains why that is and why it's crucial to save these treasures. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're not out of the woods, but health reporter Erin Allday says vaccines, the passing of the holidays and other factors are helping the Bay Area turn the corner on the pandemic. Plus: Business reporter Carolyn Said on a study estimating tens of thousands have died due to the nation's unemployment crisis. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No San Francisco public school student has seen the inside of a classroom in nearly a year, though six elementary schools are ready to reopen -- eventually. Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker explains the latest on the move to reopen the city's schools and how Zoom school has spelled disaster for some kids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporter Rachel Swan talks about her investigation into the police shooting of a mentally ill man in Danville. An officer killed Laudemer Arboleda, who was unarmed, after stepping in front of his car during a low-speed chase. Now, amid calls for police accountability in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the Contra Costa County district attorney must decide whether to charge the officer with homicide. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just as in 1969, when Gov. Ronald Reagan sent in the National Guard, activists want to preserve the Berkeley park while UC wants to build housing. Times — and the stakes — have changed, but reporter Sarah Ravani says the fight is a familiar one. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Related episode: People's Park at 50 — pod.fo/e/b6f8e Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2021 Lunar New Year marks a full year of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on San Francisco’s Chinatown. Well before the Bay Area shut down, America’s oldest Chinatown experienced reduced business and xenophobia. With thousands living in Single Room Occupancy hotels and legacy businesses on the brink of closure, the neighborhood is fighting to survive. This is an episode of The Chronicle's food and culture podcast, Extra Spicy. Related: Chinatown's Endangered Banquet Halls: pod.fo/e/b68e0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Large banquets have long been crucial to San Francisco's Chinese community, and the halls that host them have been the backbone of Chinatown. They were already fading away, but the coronavirus pandemic might be the final blow. Journalist Melissa Hung talks about their decline and efforts to save them. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Related episode: How Will Chinatown Survive? pod.fo/e/28a75 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The South Africa mutation of the virus has been identified in two patients, in Alameda and Santa Clara counties. As reporter Erin Allday explains, this could present a challenge: Current vaccines aren't as effective in fighting this variant. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chronicle's Washington correspondent Tal Kopan has the latest from the impeachment of Donald Trump. While a majority of senators rejected Trump's argument that a trial is unconstitutional, Democrats may not have enough votes to convict. Kopan weighs in on the atmosphere in Congress, the politics of the moment and the impact on VP Kamala Harris. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A deal between the San Francisco school district and labor unions only sets the conditions needed to return. Will it happen before summer? And what might the school day look like? Reporter Jill Tucker says parents are watching, including some who have shifted kids to private school — or Marin County. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feeling exhausted, confused and just plain over it? You're not alone. Reporter Ryan Kost looks at the mix of good and bad news on the coronavirus front and why it's causing so much uncertainty. Hint: We'd feel a lot better if we had an end date | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He's spent 35 years giving readers the inside view of San Francisco, Bay Area and California politics. Now, in this excerpt from the It's All Political podcast, Phil Matier talks to Joe Garofoli about covering Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom from the beginning. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Listen to the full episode here: pod.fo/e/b562a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices