From Tim: Don't let us die during an election year

Dear Readers, 

We are still about $9,000 short of our crucial goal. That means we will have to significantly scale back our voice and reach in 2026—an extremely consequential election year with contests that can determine the fate of the Bay Area. Our independent coverage is an essential guide to the issues that directly effect living here, and we're relying on you to help us continue.

The media is in a crisis, and the public is losing out. Our democracy is under serious threat, and many major media outlets are caving, doing Trump's bidding. Most are now owned by billionaires or giant corporations that care more about the short-term bottom line than about saving this country.

Democracy can't survive without reporters—and local democracy can't survive without local reporters. That's why we're here: Because people need to know the truth about how our city is run.

A reminder of our importance: We give you The Agenda every Monday, a guide to the major political events you need to know about for the coming week. We cover stories that don't get the same attention from the other news media. We go behind the obvious headlines and tell you what's really happening. We investigate and break big stories.

We have published more than 10,000 vital and diverse cultural reviews, previews, and interviews at a time when outlets are turning their backs on local arts, the soul of our city. At our fall fundraising gala, former Sup. Dean Preston put it simply: "I don't know what San Francisco would do without 48hills."

As we said, we are still $9,000 short of our goal. Please, donate what you can—or even better, sign up as a monthly sustaining donor, so we can plan our coverage in the new year. Don't let our voice be silenced in an election year.

Thanks for all you do,

Tim Redmond