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Michael Barba @mdbarba

@sfchronicle reporter. Beats: accountability & public safety. Find me on Signal: michaelbarba.42

Joined August 2012
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885 Photos and videos
Scoop: The production company behind what was advertised as a history-making boxing event outside SF City Hall has pulled out of the plans. Mayor Lurie, an early supporter, is now calling for fans to be reimbursed sfchronicle.com/sf/article/m…

Exclusive: Mayor Lurie-backed plans to host record-setting boxing match in S.F. implode

Mayor Daniel Lurie once supported plans to host the boxing event outside City Hall. Now he’s demanding fans get reimbursed for ticket sales.

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Michael Barba retweeted
Demian Bulwa@demianbulwa
May 7
NEW: An S.F. commissioner appointed to bring the voice of an ex-prison lifer keeps ending up back in the jail he oversees. Women allege abuse, and he openly flouts some laws. Can William Palmer reform the sheriff without reforming himself? By @mdbarba sfchronicle.com/sf/article/j…

S.F. official faces string of criminal allegations — and keeps landing in the jail he oversees

Formerly incarcerated, William Palmer was supposed to bring a unique voice to a panel overseeing the sheriff’s office. But several women have accused him of abuse during a chaotic tenure.

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He once dressed up as a “Styrofoam monster” to back London Breed. He later held a sign to bash Daniel Lurie that read “my cat is more qualified than Dan.” Now, an SF political provocateur is linked to another stunt. Scoop from @thejdmorris sfchronicle.com/sf/article/m…

A mysterious van is targeting S.F. congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti. Here’s who is behind...

A San Francisco political provocateur appears to be linked to a van emblazoned with a critical message about Saikat Chakrabarti, who’s running to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress.

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Just in: SF Supervisor Jackie Fielder, absent from City Hall over a "mental health condition," requests leave through the end of June. If she doesn't come back sooner, she would be out for 3.5 months @thejdmorris @alyce_mcf sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

S.F. Supervisor Jackie Fielder extends leave of absence to June 30 following mental health crisis

San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder had missed two weeks’ worth of board and committee meetings before news broke on March 27 that she was in the hospital amid a personal health crisis.

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Demian Bulwa@demianbulwa
Apr 3
The codefendant in a major San Francisco corruption case showed up to court disguised, then flipped off a photographer after the Chronicle recognized him Story: @mdbarba Photos: @ConnorsMinh sfchronicle.com/sf/article/j…
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Quite a day at the courthouse for Sheryl Davis' first appearance. James Spingola showed up disguised in a balaclava and surgical mask and flipped off our photographer after we spotted him sfchronicle.com/sf/article/j…

Former S.F. official pleads not guilty to corruption. Her co-defendant enters court disguised

James Spingola, the former director of the San Francisco nonprofit Collective Impact, wore a mask and balaclava as ex-Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis pleaded not guilty.

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JUST IN: Sheryl Davis, former chief of SF Dream Keeper Initiative, was booked into jail this morning on suspicion of a raft of felonies including misappropriation of public funds and perjury. She was under criminal investigation by @BrookeJenkinsSF sfchronicle.com/crime/articl…

Top S.F. official who led Dream Keeper equity program charged with felonies: ‘abuse of power’

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed felony financial misconduct charges against Sheryl Davis, who oversaw the S.F. Human Rights Commission, and James Spingola, who ran a nonprofit Davis funded.

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As SFPD embraced new surveillance tech, its CIO asked the department's vendors to sponsor a puff piece about his work. Now he's under investigation and on leave sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

Exclusive: S.F. police director asked tech vendors to sponsor puff piece on his work

The San Francisco Police Department placed William Sanson-Mosier on leave Thursday as the Chronicle probed his emails to tech companies that did business with the department.

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Here's the request he fired off from his city email to SFPD vendors and a link to the ensuing sponsored content, which featured ads from Axon, Oracle, Thomson Reuters and others interface.media/blog/magazin…
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Mayor Lurie backed a plan for SF to host the biggest boxing event ever. Critics say it's unrealistic. "How in the world did City Hall get duped into this?" sfchronicle.com/sf/article/b…

‘Is this a fantasy?’ Lurie-backed plan for record-breaking S.F. boxing event faces scrutiny

Mayor Daniel Lurie has thrown his weight behind a plan for San Francisco to host the largest boxing event in world history, a feat that has struck some critics as highly unlikely to materialize.

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I sat down with San Francisco’s new anti-corruption czar, a former fed who knows a bit about prosecuting bad actors. We discussed why she thinks the city is so often mired in scandal. sfchronicle.com/sf/article/f…

She prosecuted S.F. corruption for the feds. Now she’s taking on City Hall from the inside

For the first time in its history, San Francisco has hired an inspector general to root out waste, fraud and abuse.

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20 Nov 2025
One of Mayor Daniel Lurie’s possible choices for SFPD chief, Derrick Lew, was nearly killed in a shootout years ago. The gunman? A cousin of ex-Mayor London Breed. MORE: sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti…

A top candidate for S.F. police chief was once nearly killed by London Breed’s cousin

Records shed light on an incident in Derrick Lew’s career, when a man fired at him from close range. Nearly two decades later, Lew is now among those believed to be in the running for police...

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16 Nov 2025
"The information Baran brought to light probably catalyzed Alcaraz’s resignation, which political experts have called a major embarrassment for Lurie’s administration." @kolyn_cheang sfchronicle.com/sf/article/j…

How a House of Prime Rib cocktail waitress kicked up a political storm in S.F. City Hall

Julia Baran, who bought a pet store from Beya Alcaraz, said her father advised her not to go public with what she knew about the San Francisco supervisor, who resigned after a week on the job.

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Michael Barba@mdbarba
14 Nov 2025
BREAKING: SF's newest supervisor Beya Alcaraz agrees to resign at Mayor Lurie's request one week into office amid mounting controversies sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

San Francisco’s newest supervisor resigns amid pet store controversies

Mayor Daniel Lurie’s appointment of Beya Alcaraz had quickly become the biggest misstep of his tenure. Choosing the untested newcomer to replace recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio stunned City...

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22 Oct 2025
NEW: We obtained surveillance footage of the alleged hit-and-run by SF Sheriff Miyamoto’s then-chief of staff, Rich Jue. It revealed far more than we expected. w/ @meganrcassidy sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

Exclusive: Video of alleged hit and run by S.F. sheriff official exposes gaps in investigation

Richard Jue, formerly chief of staff to Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, is avoiding a criminal conviction for leaving the scene of an accident and then lying about it.

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'I'M A BAD BOY': SF Sheriff's brother-in-law caught growing weed in a county jail, where he worked as a plumber, prosecutors say. sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

‘I’m a bad boy’: S.F. sheriff’s brother-in-law allegedly grew weed in county jail

San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto’s brother-in-law faced criminal charges three years ago after he was allegedly caught growing marijuana inside a county jail, where he worked as a plumber.

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Scoop: SF sheriff cleared the way for his longtime friend — who lied to the FBI during its ‘Shrimp Boy’ probe — to get his job back as a deputy. Now state officials are weighing stepping in sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

Exclusive: S.F. sheriff cleared way to rehire friend who lied in ‘Shrimp Boy’ case

Sgt. Michael Kim’s alleged misconduct was deemed so serious that California may soon bar him from wearing a badge. 

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Michael Barba@mdbarba
18 Jun 2025
NEW: An SF city worker put on admin leave by his boss after he filed a whistleblower complaint against her is now facing a new challenge: Mayor Daniel Lurie wants to eliminate his job. sfchronicle.com/sf/article/m…

S.F. Mayor Lurie moves to eliminate job of whistleblower in City Hall scandal

A high-ranking San Francisco city worker alleges that the Lurie administration is using the budget cuts as a pretext to get rid of him for blowing the whistle on the former director of his...

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Michael Barba@mdbarba
12 Jun 2025
Nonprofit group yanks leadership award from former CEO of collapsed nonprofit SF Parks Alliance. Good get by @sfexaminer @PatrickHoge sfexaminer.com/news/the-city…

Award revoked from ex-Parks Alliance chief

Issued day before misspending report surfaced.

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NEW: Supervisor Walton is seeking to subpoena several former Parks Alliance leaders to testify at an upcoming hearing on the collapse of the nonprofit. "I have nothing to hide," says Robert Ogilvie, the org's last CEO. sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s…

S.F. supervisor seeks to subpoena ex-leaders of collapsed parks nonprofit

The request for a subpoena comes after the Parks Alliance began to wind down its operations this week ahead of a scheduled hearing on its collapse and outstanding debts to the city.

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