• Local public health officials are expressing cautious optimism that 2024 was a turning point in San Francisco's opioid crisis. From January through November, overdose deaths saw a 20% decrease when compared to the same period in 2023. [Examiner]
• The funeral service for local skateboarding legend Joe Fong was "standing room only," with people from across the Asian American and skateboarding communities cramming in to pay their respects. Fong died unexpectedly of liver cancer in late November, at the age of 65. [Chronicle]
• Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie named a slew of staffers for his oncoming administration on Friday. Namely, local philanthropist Penny Coulter will be his chief of protocol, a position that tasks her with welcoming prominent foreign guests to the City. [Mission Local]
• Beloved beachside bistro Seal Rock Inn will reopen on Jan. 1. The eatery initially closed in 2020, after 46 years of business. [Chronicle]
• Vladimir Putin offered an official apology for an Azerbaijani airplane crash that occurred within Russian airspace earlier this week, but stopped short of taking direct responsibility for any potential role that his country's military might have had in the incident. [New York Times]
• The Sacramento Kings just fired Head Coach Mike Brown less than halfway into the season, only a year and a half after he unanimously won the NBA Coach of the Year award. [ESPN]

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