‘Our hands are tied’: SF couple wants city to pay back $300K they sunk into restaurant in building slated for a shelter. What businesses can do when local policy impacts livelihood
Kay and Ryan Zin spent a year and more than $300,000 on permits and renovations before opening Bay of Burma restaurant in San Francisco’s South of Market area in 2023. The business owners leased space on the ground level of a mixed-use building, with residences upstairs. The day after their grand opening, they learned the […]
After the storm: How to financially weather home repairs and rising insurance costs
Some Florida homeowners hardest hit by hurricanes Milton and Helene must now also see their homes completely demolished or, if they’re lucky, elevated. This follows a federal mandate that impacts majorly damaged homes — those impacted by natural disasters. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) 50% rule dictates that if a house is in a flood […]
San Francisco’s Chinatown shops are struggling as US tariffs drive up costs, leading to tough choices for business owners — raise prices or risk losing customers
The heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown is under siege — not by bulldozers or policy bans, but by something just as destructive: rising tariffs. The neighbourhood’s small shops are feeling the pinch from U.S. tariffs on China, which are now at 20%. The owners have weathered economic downturns for generations, shifting demographics, and even the […]
‘I can’t believe I fell for it’: Bay Area man out $4,000, scammed by fake appliance repair company. Here’s how he got swindled — and how to protect yourself against service provider fraud
In November, just before Thanksgiving, Ben Phillips called Box Appliance, a San Francisco Bay Area appliance repair company he’d used before, to fix a leak in his 22-year-old refrigerator. But this time around, after several visits and a $4,000 bill, the technician not only upsold him to replace the compressor, but they also didn’t actually […]