Fifth & Mission

Hundreds of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by Catholic priests are now paused after the San Francisco Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Monday. Many abuse survivors — some of whom have waited decades for their day in court — are frustrated by the filing, the third of its kind by Bay Area dioceses this year. Chronicle reporter Sophia Bollag joins host Laura Wenus to discuss the flood of lawsuits and what these bankruptcies could mean. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s jarring weekly test of its outdoor emergency warning siren fell silent in 2019 so the system could be upgraded. The project has faced delays and budget overruns, but Maui’s fire disaster is inspiring a renewed sense of urgency. Reporter Aldo Toledo joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the long-stalled project and what it says about the city’s priorities. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s overdose death rate has almost tripled in recent years due in large part to the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, but numbers don’t tell the whole story. Chronicle reporters sat down with seven Bay Area residents whose lives have been changed by the epidemic, from grieving parents to emergency responders. Host Cecilia Lei presents their perspectives on the crisis and how they think it can be solved. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To meet its state-mandated goal of approving 82,000 new units of housing by 2031, San Francisco will need to dramatically ramp up the rate at which it greenlights construction. So far, it is not on course. Chronicle reporters J.D. Morris and J.K. Dineen have been crunching the city’s housing numbers and join host Laura Wenus to share how local leaders are trying to push the city to move faster. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chronicle reporter Shira Stein broke the news of a messy family dispute involving Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The senior senator has filed a lawsuit to remove the trustees of her late husband's estate, alleging that they committed financial elder abuse. Stein joins host Joe Garofoli to discuss this legal tangle, which adds on to a long list of challenges complicating Feinstein’s remaining time in office. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once largely confined to the Central Valley, the fungal respiratory illness known as valley fever is beginning to appear in Northern California, including the Bay Area. Scientists believe that climate change is driving the spread. Chronicle intern Gabe Castro-Root joins host Laura Wenus to discuss the growing alarm about this fungal disease. Then researcher Jennifer Head explains why valley fever’s spread could be a sign of things to come. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid the crises and chaos caused by last week's deadly wildfire in Maui, Chronicle reporter Matthias Gafni also found signs of community resilience and solidarity. He shares dispatches from a relief center on the island with host Cecilia Lei — and an incredible tale of survival. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco is paying hefty sums of money to deal with lawsuits related to its police department. A series of reports from Mission Local found that over the past 13 years, settlements in civil suits related to alleged misconduct, employment disputes, false imprisonment and property damage have totaled more than $70 million. Data reporter Will Jarrett joins host Laura Wenus to break down that figure and the limitations of the civil court system. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Upheavals in the theater world, from pandemic lockdowns to labor movements, have put companies in a financial bind. Theater critic Lily Janiak joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss how this moment is a reckoning for the industry, and TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli shares why it's time to reexamine the value of performing arts. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hayes Valley’s Proxy is a cluster of boutique shops and restaurants that functions as a community gathering space, but it sits on land that has been flagged for affordable housing for decades. Now that the city wants to start development, residents are divided on whether the project should move forward. Reporter J.K. Dineen joins host Cecilia Lei to break down the controversy and the broader stakes for San Francisco’s housing debate. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California school districts have been grappling with a teacher shortage since before the pandemic, but in cities like Oakland and San Francisco it's become normal to start the school year with vacant classroom positions. Chronicle education reporter Jill Tucker tells host Laura Wenus how Bay Area school districts are filling the gaps and how the state is trying to entice people into teaching. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wildfires have devastated giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees. Now national park officials want to restore the iconic California species by replanting them, but the plan is facing pushback. Reporter Kurtis Alexander joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss scientists' concerns and why debates like this will only become more common as we confront the devastation wreaked by climate change. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women's sports are increasingly popular, and even late-night matches during the Women’s World Cup have drawn big crowds in the Bay Area. But when the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, which was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend, isn’t playing, it's a constant struggle to find public places to catch games. Sports reporter Marisa Ingemi tells host Laura Wenus why and how a local entrepreneur has started a group called Women's Sports Takeover to make watching easier for fans longing for community. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elected last year on promises to reform the criminal justice system from the inside, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is now the latest progressive Bay Area prosecutor to face a recall campaign. Reporter Rachel Swan joins host Cecilia Lei to explain the effort to oust Price from office. Then data reporter Susie Neilson takes a closer look at Oakland crime figures as residents try to make sense of an ongoing surge in violence. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 2016, California has allowed certain terminally ill people to choose assisted death through a physician-prescribed cocktail of lethal medications. Columnist Nuala Bishari recently helped her partner’s mother take that path, and joins host Cecilia Lei to share what she learned about bodily autonomy from that experience, and why it’s so hard to talk about death. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With public safety top of mind for San Francisco voters, Mayor London Breed has been hammering the topic hard, calling for a stricter approach to drug crimes and touting her administration's efforts to hire more police officers. Will it convince residents dissatisfied with her leadership to give her another term? Reporter JD Morris joins host Cecilia Lei to give an early look at Breed’s political prospects as the 2024 election approaches. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

City leaders are calling on private and public universities to consider opening up a campus in San Francisco's downtown. They imagine that classrooms or dorms could fill office buildings left empty by remote work, and that students might spend their money at local businesses and breathe life into the city's economic core. SFNext reporter Noah Arroyo joins host Laura Wenus to explain how this could work and what it would take to bring a downtown campus closer to reality. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since April, city workers have been constructing new bike lanes along the Mission District's busy and dangerous Valencia Street. The twist: They run down the middle of the road. The hope is that giving cyclists their own space will reduce collisions, but a confusing rollout has stirred up controversy. Theater critic and seasoned cyclist Lily Janiak joins host Laura Wenus to discuss the new lanes and what else it might take to make city streets an inviting place for drivers and cyclists alike. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s here! Swifties are converging on Santa Clara for two shows of Swift's Era's Tour. Whether you’re collecting friendship bracelets to trade or you're utterly clueless, Chronicle music critic Aidin Vaziri and the newsroom’s resident Swifties tell host Cecilia Lei about tour highlights and why the generation-spanning pop star “just keeps getting bigger and bigger.” | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since he left the Democratic Party, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has been recruiting candidates and raising money for his new Forward Party. Instead of running a presidential campaign, Yang tells It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli, the Forward Party is focused on local offices where entrenched party representatives have no incentive to serve their constituents. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As residents and tourists in Europe, Asia and the United States face extreme heat waves tied to climate change, some people are giving up air travel to reduce their environmental impact. Berkeley transportation justice activist Barnali Ghosh joins new co-host Laura Wenus to discuss why she decided to stop flying, and reporter Kate Selig shares tips on how to travel while being friendly to the planet. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifth & Mission's team is growing! New co-host Laura Wenus joins Cecilia Lei to share some of her personal story as a local reporter and what she hopes to bring to the show. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wellpath is the main provider of health care inside California jails despite facing lawsuits and investigations accusing the corporation of offering substandard medical care that results in neglect — and even deaths. Reporter Susie Neilson joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss those allegations, and why California does little to regulate the company. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco's troubled downtown has made headlines around the world, but Chronicle urban design critic John King says people are missing the full picture of the city. He joins host Cecilia Lei to share how downtown went from being reviled by San Franciscans for decades to defining the city in the public’s imagination. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The university’s president is stepping down after flaws were found in his neuroscience research. It’s just one of the latest of many recent resignations and scandals that Stanford has faced. Student journalist Theo Baker, a rising sophomore who broke the story, joins host Demian Bulwa to discuss his investigation, and Chronicle reporter Nanette Asimov considers what could come next for the university. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While generative AI, like ChatGPT, can write term papers and computer programs, local and federal governments are still trying to figure out how to use — and regulate — the technology. Chronicle reporters Shira Stein and Chase DiFeliciantonio join host Cecilia Lei to discuss the potential ways that A.I. can improve government efficiency, and the challenges of regulating the technology. Plus: reporter Sophia Bollag shares why California might be better positioned to do it. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's Board of Education recently made recommendations to change the state's math framework in an effort to reduce racial disparities in math proficiencies. But critics worry that de-emphasizing courses like calculus will make students less competitive for top universities. Columnist Emily Hoeven and reporter Jill Tucker join host Cecilia Lei to discuss the math wars playing out across the state, and how similar curriculum changes played out in San Francisco. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Districts in the Bay Area and around the state are sitting on a real estate gold mine of unused buildings and lots. Selling could raise needed funds and help ease the housing crisis. But there are plenty of catches. Reporter Jill Tucker joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the hard choices school boards are facing. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The announcement that the legendary San Francisco brand is shutting down shocked many beer lovers, but not employees of the brewery, who blame parent company Sapporo for mismanagement. Food and wine reporter Jess Lander and Total SF podcast host Peter Hartlaub join host Demian Bulwa to talk about what losing a member of its Mount Rushmore of edible icons means to San Francisco, and whether there’s a chance for a last-minute reprieve. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Related: TotalSF — Pouring one out for Anchor Brewing: pod.fo/e/18c435 Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When San Francisco voters elected Brooke Jenkins as San Francisco district attorney, she promised to shut down open-air drug markets and crack down on property crime. Has she made a difference? Chronicle reporter St. John Barned-Smith joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about how Jenkins assesses her first year, and what she says is the only thing she would've done differently. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Area diners have been complaining about long wait times, high costs and missing food items. Has the pandemic forever changed restaurant service in the Bay Area? Restaurant critic Cesar Hernandez says no, and explains to host Cecilia Lei why managing our expectations is important when dining out. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mass arrests of skateboarders at Dolores Park has raised questions about SFPD's use of force. Chronicle reporter Nora Mishanec joins host Demian Bulwa to discuss the significance of the annual "Hill Bomb" event, and skateboarder Ryen Motzek, president of the Mission Merchants Association, explains the significance of skateboarding culture in San Francisco. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three thousand miles from San Francisco, a cluster of rural villages in Honduras is buzzing with the sounds of construction as new mansions spring up — many adorned with Bay Area iconography. The region shares a surprising connection to San Francisco: It is the birthplace of many of the city’s drug dealers. For the past 18 months, reporter Megan Cassidy and photographer Gabrielle Lurie have been investigating that link and how the open-air drug trade in San Francisco operates. They join Cecilia Lei to share what they learned. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's years-long drought ended after last winter's heavy rains, but fire experts say wildfire risks still exist, and if new growth dries out, it could be ripe to burn. Chronicle reporter Kurtis Alexander joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the outlook for this year's fire season, and reporter Jessica Flores shares how residents of one Oakland neighborhood are petitioning PG&E to keep their homes safe.| Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best of 5M: COVID-19 hit local nightlife hard, and it hasn’t come all the way back. Bar owners are struggling to find ways to attract customers who have changed their socializing habits during the pandemic. Chronicle senior wine critic Esther Mobley joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the how bar owners are adapting and what's at stake if bar culture doesn't bounce back. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best of 5M: The viral artificial intelligence tool has surprised millions of users with its capabilities, but it's also raised concerns about how it might be used. Hearst Newspapers director of newsroom engineering Evan Wagstaff joins host Cecilia Lei to explain how ChatGPT works, and reporter Jill Tucker shares why some educators are embracing the technology in the classroom. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best of 5M: Longtime outdoors writer Tom Stienstra has stared down grizzly bears, steered clear of mountain lions and braved the elements. But his closest call was a recent cancer diagnosis. He joins Cecilia Lei to talk about meeting it with the same joie de vivre that made him fall in love with California’s natural beauty in the first place. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Sutro Tower reaches its 50th anniversary on July 4, 2023, The Chronicle's Total SF podcast co-hosts, Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight, pay tribute to the controversial TV tower — which began as a fiercely protested structure, and has developed into one of the most beloved San Francisco landmarks. Hartlaub and Knight also recount their trip in a very small elevator to the top of the tower, and talk about the history, including plans for a restaurant at the top. Produced by Peter Hartlaub. Music from the Sunset Shipwrecks off their album "Community," Castro Theatre organist David Hegarty and cable car bell-ringing by 8-time champion Byron Cobb. Follow Total SF adventures at www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Supreme Court rejected affirmative action in college admissions, it argued that the practice puts Asian Americans at a disadvantage. But, as Vincent Pan from Chinese for Affirmative Action explains, that narrative masks how Asian Americans communities have faced exclusion from educational opportunities and played pivotal roles in calling for greater access.| Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congressman Pete Aguilar hails from a small purple city in California, but now he’s rubbing elbows with power brokers and being mentored by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. Aguilar tells It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli about his difficult new task: winning back several Republican-held House seats in California. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Millions of Americans have lost their sense of taste and smell after getting COVID-19. For chefs and restaurant owners, the impact has been devastating. Host Cecilia Lei chats with Bay Area food professionals to discuss their experience, and UCSF’s Dr. Patricia Loftus explains why researchers think the phenomenon happens, and the treatments that might help. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 13, the California Public Utilities Commission will vote on a resolution to give driverless robotaxis full access to pick up paying passengers in San Francisco. To find out what that might be like, opinion columnist Emily Hoeven recently took a ride in a Waymo robotaxi. She tells host Demian Bulwa what it was like and why some San Francisco officials are sounding the alarm. Note: The vote was previously scheduled for June 29 and was postponed after this episode published. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1996, a state ballot measure barred public universities from using race as a factor in admissions. Now, with the Supreme Court weighing affirmative action, the University of California's struggle to build a diverse student body may hold lessons for private universities that could soon face the same restriction. Chronicle reporter Nanette Asimov joins host Cecilia Lei to discus s the stakes. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Nasser Mohamed became the first Qatari to come out as gay during an interview with BBC World last year ahead of the World Cup. Since then, the S.F. primary care physician has connected with hundreds of other LGBTQ people in Qatar where homosexuality is persecuted. Mohamed was elected to serve as a Grand Marshall in this year's SF Pride Parade and joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about his activism and finding a queer Middle Eastern community in San Francisco. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new team of San Francisco police officers has arrested or cited people for drug offenses 53 times in recent weeks as part Mayor London Breed's crackdown on drug dealing and use. She's talked about "tough love" and getting people into treatment, but so far none of the arrests have resulted in someone accepting drug treatment services. Chronicle reporter Mallory Moench joins host Demian Bulwa to explain the goals of this crackdown, why critics say it may exacerbate the overdose crisis and what to expect next. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“This is a story of deep poverty in a state with incredibly high housing costs.” That’s how Dr. Margot Kushel, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, describes the takeaway from California’s largest study of homeless adults in three decades. As Kushel, the study's lead investigator, tells host Cecilia Lei, the majority of respondents became homeless in California — and relatively small amounts of money could have prevented it for almost everyone. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California became one of the last states in the country to decertify or suspend cops for serious misconduct when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB2 in 2021. The law went into effect this year, and the commission in charge of enforcing it estimates that up to 3,500 police officers could be stripped of their badges each year. Chronicle reporter Sophia Bollag joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the law's impact and the pushback by opponents. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best of 5M: In honor of Juneteenth, we're republishing this episode from February 24. In a wide-raging onstage conversation with host Cecilia Lei, the comic, host of CNN's "United Shades of America," producer and director of "We Have to Talk About Cosby" and co-author of "Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book" says being progressive is about just that — doing the work. This episode was recorded live at Manny’s in San Francisco as part of Fifth & Mission’s 1,000th episode celebration. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oakland A’s move to Las Vegas took a leap forward this week, as the Nevada Legislature passed a bill granting $380 million in public funding for a new ballpark on the Strip. But fans aren’t letting the team go quietly. More than 27,000 supporters showed up Tuesday for a reverse boycott demanding owner John Fisher sell the squad. Chronicle columnist Ann Killion was there and joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what’s next for the team and why the eternal underdogs have always inspired a special kind of pride. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Downtown San Francisco suffered another major blow this week when Westfield, the owner of the San Francisco Centre Mall, announced it would be returning the massive property to its lender. While the mall won't close immediately, it's a sign of serious trouble in the city's commercial core, where the owner of two major hotels also recently decided to surrender them. Host Cecilia Lei talks with reporters Roland Li and Carolyn Said to learn what might have prompted these owners to walk away and how the moves might open the door to new opportunities down the line.| Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices