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Joel Rosenblatt

Joel covers the forces in San Francisco — money, business, personalities, local law, and politics — that bind the city and pull it apart. He most recently worked for Bloomberg News reporting on state and federal courts.

Previously, he covered the crime beat for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and was a freelancer in New York City. Before that, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal. He was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, studied public policy at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and has a Masters degree from Columbia Journalism School.

The Nati is coming: Switzerland’s ‘golden’ World Cup team travels to Levi’s Stadium

Preparing for the biggest game in the world at the Swiss consulate

June 3, 2026

The mayor says his reduced budget will maintain the city’s social safety net. Advocates disagree

The fight continues to ensure a $16.9 billion city budget doesn’t leave working families, immigrants, LGBTQ+ residents, and others out in the cold

June 2, 2026

Update: Hearing on Lurie’s testimony is postponed as man charged with assault arrives hours late

Tony Phillips will now appear before a judge on June 5 to address the March confrontation with the mayor’s bodyguard in the Tenderloin

May 29, 2026

Judge to decide if Mayor Lurie appears in person as a witness to Tenderloin fight

The lawyer for Tony Phillips, the man accused of assaulting Lurie’s bodyguard, wants the mayor to take the stand; DA doesn’t want a ‘media spectacle’

May 29, 2026

SFUSD is extending the school year by five days. That is, if kids actually show up

To make up for days lost to the teachers’ strike, administrators are trying to convince students to give up a week of summer break

May 27, 2026

How many people are actually being brought to the new RESET sobering center?

The mayor boasted of ‘dozens and dozens’ in the first 24 hours; the sheriff’s office cites 320 in two and a half weeks. Yet many of the center’s chairs appear empty

May 21, 2026

A budget brawler’s inside-outside game

As Mayor Lurie’s budget deadline approaches, Anya Worley-Ziegmann leads rallies outside his office and talks with people who work within it

May 20, 2026

Protesting Mayor Lurie’s budget cuts outside his office

A group of 250 brought chants and personalized pleas directly to Room 200, but went unanswered by Lurie

May 13, 2026

Man arrested for allegedly assaulting Mayor Lurie’s bodyguard to be freed

Held on multiple charges, Tony Phillips will be released under electronic monitoring Friday

May 7, 2026

Fire on the Fountain: Vaillancourt was torched during deconstruction

Trash inside the brutalist sculpture at Ferry Plaza was ignited by a blowtorch

May 6, 2026