Free Republic

Bloodhound, a cocktail bar in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, closed for good on Jan. 18, the owner said. | Source:Courtesy BloodhoundA San Francisco bar has permanently shut its doors after the pandemic slashed business in the neighborhood and emptied out Downtown offices, the owner said.The SoMa watering hole Bloodhound shut its doors for good on Thursday, according to co-owner Mike Goebel.Goebel said that since reopening after a one-year closure during the pandemic from March 2020 to March 2021, sales have been down 70% compared with before the pandemic."The business wasn't making money," Goebel said. "The neighborhood is just so...

One of San Francisco's last remaining toy stores may have to close its doors if business doesn't pick up soon. The beloved Jeffrey's Toys in Union Square, which has been family-owned and operated since 1938, has been hit with hard times. "We all know, the pandemic has been hard on people, the uptick in crime. I look around me right now and see so many buildings that are closed and shuttered. Why are we here? We love San Francisco, we love toys, and we're the type of family that doesn't give up," said co-owner Matthew Luhn. Luhn says this week...

Macomb County Prosecutor says criminal charges possible against Governor Whitmer over nursing home deaths Criminal charges could be in the works against Governor Gretchen Whitmer over putting COVID patients inside nursing homes used as hubs early in the pandemic. New Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido says people who lost loved ones to COVID as residents or staff inside nursing homes should go back to get the vital information about the circumstances of their death and take that to local police and make a complaint as a wrongful death. Lucido says with HIPAA laws, he can’t get that information in his...