Fleeing SF? Good luck with that

An admission the city is in trouble, but you're bailing?

Paul Petrovich has had it.

The real estate developer told the San Francisco Business Times that the ridiculous California taxes are driving him out of the state. The topper, he said, was the proposed California “wealth tax.” The tax would add 0.4 percent tax on earnings over $30 billion.

“I told my wife,” Petrovich told the Times, “we gotta go.”

Petrovich says he’s going to Austin, Texas, which is a familiar narrative come to life. Businesses, we hear, don’t like the condition of the streets. The rent and taxes are too high. It would be easier and cheaper for them to move elsewhere.

And it turns out some are. But I don’t think it is just economics.

Companies that have left San Francisco — Bechtel, McKesson, Schwab and PG&E to name a few — know the deal. You pay that extra money as a tariff to live in one of the world’s coolest cities. At some point the city wasn’t worth the tariff.

Unfortunately, it is not that cool right now. Anyone who goes downtown and doesn’t use the words “ghost town” isn’t paying attention.

Which has to be part of this yearning to open “indoor dining.” (Personally, I am all about a haircut.) San Francisco is a city that loves to go out to eat. And getting to do that again would be comforting and stabilizing.

Unfortunately, I think there is more to this than getting back to a fun city with nightlife. This has the feel of a major change.

There’s an unexpected logic to it. The pandemic shut down the cities. And then viral conversations convinced people that they can work remotely.

Once the companies realized they were basically setting up call centers all over the country, and the employees were fine with it, they could see the advantages.

And that’s what I see as the real problem for San Francisco.

I don’t care how you spin it, when Pinterest laid out $89.5 million last week to get out of a lease, it was a cannon shot across the bow of San Francisco real estate. Pinterest had contracted for 490,000 square feet as prime tenant in a new SoMa building that was to be built where the tennis club is on Bluxome St.

They might as well have stamped, “No longer interested” on the check. A San Francisco-based company, Pinterest has changed its mind about committing to the future of San Francisco.

The building, which hadn’t started, is on hold. And how many other projects are stepping back and waiting to get a feel for the market? There’s a lot of office space downtown.

Now, do I have any solutions? I do not. However, I would say two things:

First, hey Petrovich, have fun in Austin. When the humidity gets over 90, give us a call.

Second, this is a vibrant, beautiful city and has been recognized around the world for hundreds of years. It has survived both natural catastrophes and the Summer of Love.

It will be different after this, I think.

But it will be back.

Now, I need a haircut.

We understand. A subscription is a commitment. But c’mon, how many crank phone calls are you getting a day? You gave your number to somebody. This is nowhere near as invasive. Besides, it’s free.

NBA players eventually did the right thing and made a statement — but there were some twists

Last week’s NBA protest and postponement of games turned out to be a reasonable, thoughtful response. The players made it clear when they went to the “bubble” that they intended to speak out on racial injustice, particularly police violence on black men.

As I said in this week’s Santa Rosa's Press Democrat column the protest wasn’t quite as smooth as it eventually looked. In fact, there was a very real chance the players were going to follow LeBron James, who was advocating shutting down the entire season.

I like the story because it shows how single acts — the Bucks discussing what they should do about the shooting of Jacob Blake — turned into a world-wide event. It is example of events meeting the moment, and the moment meaning something, instead of trying to script it out.

If you click the button you can share the newsletter with someone else. Who are we kidding tho, right? It’s probably going to end up in the Promotions folder, so no harm.

Fred Warner tests positive and the 49ers break camp. Some thoughts.

I am writing the Inside the 49ers blog for the Press Democrat and I have to say the readers are a passionate group. Lots of comments and a few helpful suggestions for me. Like I’m still spelling Garoppolo wrong. (Which I was. Noted.)

But I’m trying to bring a little original content. Once the games begin I think the Monday rehash will be something they will want to read.

But I’ve been wrong before.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Suggestions and compliments welcome. Complaints not so much. Twitter: @cwnevius