quote:

Originally posted by 2PAK:
I hadn't been back for 3 years and noted the increase in Homeless weirdness in Napa.

Every county seat in every county in CA has seen a marked increase in 'homeless'. New police chief and DA lean left so, they're much more tolerant of vagrants and new social issues. Next door Lake County is a major meth haven, and there's spill-over from there into Napa Valley, most of them go to Santa Rosa where there's more area. Fortunately, they've largely confined themselves to being along the river and freeway underpasses however, the northern half of town there's a couple of encampments along the rail line that have sprouted in the last 3-years where they weren't before.

^^^
I stayed at the Napa Hampton Inn. The overpass has some folks enjoying the river view underneath it.

My parents are buried in St Helena so I was paying my respects. Made sure I had dinner at the Rutherford Grill. Also hit the Buttercream Bakery in the morning. Didn't see any homeless in St. Helena but they may be there in a low key way.

https://www.breitbart.com/crim...ordstroms-exit-city/

Nordstrom will be shuttering its two stores in downtown San Francisco after 35 years due to a change in “the dynamics of the downtown,” the retailer announced Tuesday.

Nordstrom Rack will close July 1 and the Westfield Mall Nordstrom will close at the end of August, the San Francisco Standard reported. Between the two stores 375,000 square feet of retail space will be completely vacant by the end of summer, according to the report.

In an email to employees, the company’s chief stores officer wrote that “the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”

Nordstrom’s announcement comes just weeks after the closure of a nearby Whole Foods Market. The store announced its closing less than a year into its grand opening

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
https://www.breitbart.com/crim...ordstroms-exit-city/

Nordstrom will be shuttering its two stores in downtown San Francisco after 35 years due to a change in “the dynamics of the downtown,” the retailer announced Tuesday.

Nordstrom Rack will close July 1 and the Westfield Mall Nordstrom will close at the end of August, the San Francisco Standard reported. Between the two stores 375,000 square feet of retail space will be completely vacant by the end of summer, according to the report.

In an email to employees, the company’s chief stores officer wrote that “the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”

Nordstrom’s announcement comes just weeks after the closure of a nearby Whole Foods Market. The store announced its closing less than a year into its grand opening

When the woke companies leave, you know it's a goner.

The sad part is that even if SF rebounded economically and there was 100% business tenant occupancy, these companies know that the city's social tolerance policies scare off shoppers. You don't go to Nordies and cheerfully walk through that social decay to shop. Theft will still be rampant and people will go elsewhere.

quote:

Nordstrom will be shuttering its two stores in downtown San Francisco

Dang it, now where am I gonna return these snow tires....

I'm sure the shop lifting and all of their countermeasures are contributing to the stores not being profitable. But there is more to it than that.

Shoppers that have real money aren't going to be comfortable having to negotiate a labyrinth of homeless people, be careful not to step on used needles or dodge piles of poop to get to a store. Beyond that they are not going to be comfortable in an environment where people are stealing, being confrontational, displaying their crazy at will, etc. Who wants to be in a store surrounded by crazy and criminals?

That is what is driving everyone out of these areas. No one wants to really say it.

The only store in San Francisco that I truly miss is F.A.O. Schwarz, and that closed in 2003. It was fun to go in there and imagine what it would be like to purchase a life-size giraffe stuffed animal for thousands of dollars.

quote:

Originally posted by 2PAK:
^^^
I stayed at the Napa Hampton Inn. The overpass has some folks enjoying the river view underneath it.

My parents are buried in St Helena so I was paying my respects. Made sure I had dinner at the Rutherford Grill. Also hit the Buttercream Bakery in the morning. Didn't see any homeless in St. Helena but they may be there in a low key way.

Good spots, I've rented the conference room and had clients stay at that Hampton, for what it is, the rooms are rather spacious and modern. Across the parking lot behind the movie theater, is a number of county social services to include county health and I believe a half-way house either for the recently released or, those completely on the gov dole. South Napa is where all the zombies go, that little access street and the vineyard trail that snakes along the river is the hot spot.

In St Helena the zombie appearances are nothing like Napa, the county health services and such are there for the vineyard laborers and their families. Most of the druggies end up wasting their time next to the river. I've heard Calistoga has a handful but, they also are far out of sight and there's even fewer services available for them to mooch off of so, zero incentive for them to be up valley.

I live 20 miles from SF, and used to go to Nordstrom Rack occasionally. The last thing I want is to have my truck broken into and tools and personal item stolen. Just not worth it, so I and I assume thousands others go elsewhere.

I haven’t been to SF for a good while. I enjoyed my visits in the past except for the politics and homelessness. Last time I went I didn’t think about Alcatraz tickets and wanted to go, but it was sold out for months. I thought for the heck of it I would check availability right now and you can get tickets for as early as tomorrow.

Mark one down for the good guys. A big one. Like $50M in merchandise recovered big one. This is an organized shoplifting ring that rivals what was seen in Goodfellas.

I saw the title and thought of this:

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
My brother is a retired police captain in Nor Cal and returned to his old jurisdiction. The CVS has an accordion security fence in the cosmetic and health care isles. Essentially you had to request the product.

Google California Prop. 47 and the devastation heaped upon California residents.

The people voted for this, because they are idealists who believe shoplifters are just poor hungry people that need a little food. They need to look at themselves and understand how naive they are, and vote it back to the way it needs to be. I don't see much chance of that.

But the funny part is eBay and Amazon are providing the marketplaces to sell all the stolen goods. They are contributing to the problem, which is driving their brick and mortar competition out of business.

Amazon and eBay need to be held criminally liable for trafficking in stolen goods. There is no way they can't figure out what is really going on...

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
The only store in San Francisco that I truly miss is F.A.O. Schwarz, and that closed in 2003. It was fun to go in there and imagine what it would be like to purchase a life-size giraffe stuffed animal for thousands of dollars.

I remember that store. it was magical during the Christmas season.

What are Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square like these days? What stores are left there? These were 2 of my favorite spots back in the 90's. There was an Indian Food restaurant in Ghirardelli Square that I really liked at the time -- bet it's gone now.

Then there was a street entertainer, an older black guy in a hat, who hung out on the lower east corner of Ghirardelli square for years. I suppose he's long gone.

Some explanation of what's happening on the ground and the siege that SFPD is under, this is all despite a starting base salary of $95k which will get changed due to a recently approved 11% increase. Not unusual to hear of officers pulling in $120k+/yr their first three years, and $150k+/yr base for 10+...I'll let your imaginations run with what kind of overtime they can pull.

The officer interviewed, was fired from SFPD because he didn't get vax'd, you can look up his name and see all the news surrounding his case.

Sucks really, remember walking Union Square area when we lived there, going back and staying at the Cartwright on Sutter,

Grabbing a super strong morning Coffee and going for a stroll, Catching the Powell St Cable Car, Sushi at Maru's on Powell, used to stop at Lillian's Deli on Maiden Lane owned by a friend, she's probably gone like the deli now, Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista.

Debs brother had a Salon at 233 Grant Ave. its gone as is he, used to borrow his Motorcycle and cruise the streets.

Those were fun times...

https://www.breitbart.com/poli...er-less-than-a-year/

Coco Republic, an Australian furniture retailer that invested heavily in a San Francisco showroom off Union Square, abruptly announced Wednesday that it would be closing the store, less than a year after it opened on Stockton Street, across the street from Macy’s.

The reason given was safety of its shoppers , along with a significant drop in foot traffic that has not returned since the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, according to a statement released to The Chronicle.

“We invested extraordinary time and capital in our initial U.S. flagship store in Union Square,” said Anthony Spon-Smith, Coco Republic’s creative director and founder, who is based in Sydney. “Less than six months from opening, we could not be more disappointed to be shuttering this flagship location in our sister city, but ultimately, the safety and well-being of our customers and employees is our highest priority.”

quote:

San Francisco Has Become a Shoplifter’s Paradise

Hmmm...

quote:

Nordstrom’s announcement comes just weeks after the closure of a nearby Whole Foods Market. The store announced its closing less than a year into its grand opening ...
...
When the woke companies leave, you know it's a goner.

It won't be much of a Shoplifter’s Paradise after all the stores close...

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
My brother is a retired police captain in Nor Cal and returned to his old jurisdiction. The CVS has an accordion security fence in the cosmetic and health care isles. Essentially you had to request the product.

Google California Prop. 47 and the devastation heaped upon California residents.

The people voted for this, because they are idealists who believe shoplifters are just poor hungry people that need a little food.

Truthfully, people voted for Prop 47 because Democrats marketed this bill on radio, leaflets, ballot descriptions as the "Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act". I am not shitting you. And among more politically aware voters, it was also marketing as a bill to end "racist" policies in prisons, because too many black were in jails and prisons.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Sucks really, remember walking Union Square area when we lived there, going back and staying at the Cartwright on Sutter,

Grabbing a super strong morning Coffee and going for a stroll, Catching the Powell St Cable Car, Sushi at Maru's on Powell, used to stop at Lillian's Deli on Maiden Lane owned by a friend, she's probably gone like the deli now, Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista.

I was last there in Oct. and there were no lines for the cable car, in fact, the only people hanging around the turnaround were street people, there was nobody out on Market St in broad daylight. Union Square was a police convention- a mobile police station was setup across from William Sonoma, with groups of officers, half dozen, at each corner of Union Sq. More patrolling around on foot, two squad cars driving laps around the square for 14 hours a day. The Apple store had two dedicated SFPD officers. Foot and car traffic maybe 25% of what it used to be. Lots of vacant storefronts. SF committed suicide with its policies, even their mayor states that SF downtown will never return to its former glory again.

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:
Truthfully, people voted for Prop 47 because Democrats marketed this bill on radio, leaflets, ballot descriptions as the "Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act". I am not shitting you. And among more politically aware voters, it was also marketing as a bill to end "racist" policies in prisons, because too many black were in jails and prisons.

Prop 47 fed into the narrative that people were in prison unjustly, a wholesale round-up of black & brown people feeding the 'prison industrial complex', never mind that these people ACTUALLY committed a felony and was adjudicated in court. Which brings up the other false-narrative: that the majority of people incarcerated on drugs crimes was marijuana.....you're not going to jail for MJ possession. Unless you're dealing, transporting large amounts or operating under the influence, you're getting a misdemeanor at-best; show up for your court date, do public service and probation. The bill was purposely built to empty prisons and minimize any punitive action to slaps on the wrist.

quote:

Union Square was a police convention- a mobile police station was setup across from William Sonoma, with groups of officers, half dozen, at each corner of Union Sq. More patrolling around on foot, two squad cars driving laps around the square for 14 hours a day. The Apple store had two dedicated SFPD officers. Foot and car traffic maybe 25% of what it used to be. Lots of vacant storefronts. SF committed suicide with its policies, even their mayor states that SF downtown will never return to its former glory again.

The swarming of the area was after a series of high-profile smash n'grab robberies, the brazenness continued to escalate to the point where SFPD caught a crew in-the-act. They tried to drive-off, police swarmed the vehicle yanking out the suspects, breaking out the windows, this was all during the recall effort of the soft-on-crime DA. My sister works on Maiden Lane, going out for lunch...not anymore, everyone brown bags it, don't want to deal with the crazies. Unfortunately, other neighborhoods of the city which never had the amount of crime and violent assaults in other parts, have now become vulnerable, ergo overwhelming LEO and driving citizens to their wits end. I continue to remind them, you get what you vote for
https://www.foxnews.com/us/lou...out-thieves-arrested