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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.

Back-to-school jitters

With trans and immigrant students the target of the Trump administration’s hostilities, SFUSD teachers and administrators are bracing for impact

August 11, 2025

Dad & Co.

What does a 10-year-old make of the Dead? ‘A lot of old people, and they all look like hippies’

August 4, 2025

Jerry is my homeboy

Walking in the Grateful Dead founder’s footsteps in the Excelsior

July 30, 2025

‘It’s designed to put fear in people’

An immigrant’s first-person account of living, working, and raising a family in San Francisco under the threat of ICE raids

July 25, 2025

Fans for life

Sunset tattoo artist Salem Ofa specializes in Dead-related ink

July 21, 2025

The two towers

The new owner of Market Center has big plans (hoops! pickle ball! climbing wall! rooftop restaurant!), but don’t even think about touching the garden

July 15, 2025

A pizza place where the Dead lives

The Grateful Dead is baked deep into Dogpatch’s Long Bridge Pizza

July 9, 2025

SF State’s one-of-a-kind Iranian studies center is closing when it’s most needed

‘I feel deeply betrayed,’ director says, after philanthropist rethinks an endowment

June 27, 2025

Newsom summons the posse after Trump’s beatdown

The California governor might still have some fight left

June 20, 2025

Newsom v. Trump could set a dangerous precedent

Ninth Circuit looks likely to bless Trump’s National Guard deployment anywhere, anytime

June 18, 2025