Phil Matier

There's a new casualty due to the financial turmoil that San Francisco finds itself in: Westfield, the operator of the San Francisco Centre on Market Street, is walking away from the mall after plummeting sales and foot traffic during the pandemic. KCBS Radio news anchors Eric Thomas and Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier for his thoughts on the situation.

As we've been reporting, Westfield has announced it's abandoning its San Francisco mall, following many other major retailers lately.  We've also been hearing an IKEA is on the way to San Francisco,could that save the city's retail sector? 

In a last-minute bailout, the California state budget will include a subsidy for BART and other local transit agencies. This inclusion in the budget saves BART from a fiscal cliff, at least for the time being. KCBS Radio news anchors Margie Shafer and Phil Matier spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier for his thoughts on what this means for BART and for riders.

As we've been reporting, former President Trump will be reporting to federal court on Tuesday, in a seven-count indictment including obstruction of justice and retention of government secrets. For more, Matt Bigler and Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier and former Mayor Willie Brown.

The San Francisco Sheriff's Office says it will deploy deputies to help battle the City's fentanyl crisis.  For more on this, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier.

As robo-taxi services edge closer to regulatory approval in San Francisco, the city's Transit Chief has strongly criticized the safety of services like Cruise and Waymo as more incidents involving robo-taxis are reported. For more, Eric Thomas and Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier.

San Francisco officials are giving a time-out to cannabis dispensaries in the city after supervisors unanimously approved a moratorium to stop accepting applications for new marijuana shops until 2028. KCBS Radio news anchors Bret Burkhart and Pat Thurston spoke to KCBS insider Phil Matier for more on the motivation behind this proposal.

A Safeway store in San Francisco has adopted a unique strategy to counter the increasing loitering: playing loud classical music. Unfortunately, neighbors are far from pleased with this blaring solution. For more KCBS Radio's Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier.

Officials in San Francisco are trying to tap the brakes on round-the-clock, self-driving taxi services. For what are officials doing and why, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Pat Thurston spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier.  

Governor Gavin Newsom is taking his war of words with Florida governor Ron DeSantis to new heights, lobbing potential kidnapping charges against him after more migrants were sent to Sacramento as a political stunt. This is drawing a lot of attention to the border refugee challenge and it's got other city officials wondering what to do if they end up in the same scenario. For more, KCBS Radio's Matt Bigler and Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier.

Increased police enforcement is already underway to curb public drug use in San Francisco. This comes ahead of Mayor London Breed's plan to open a drug crisis command center on Market Street. KCBS Radio news anchor Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier for more.

Once Allies, Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have now become bitter rivals.  Their ongoing feud reached a new level as they clashed at dueling campaign events last night. For more, KCBS Radio's Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier and former Mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown.

A high-profile Republican is considering jumping into the race for Senator Dianne Feinstein's seat next election, except he's known more for his accomplishments on the baseball diamond than in the world of politics. Steve Garvey says he's been approached to run for office, and he's thinking about it. KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Nikki Medoro spoke to KCBS insider Phil Matier on what the Republican and former Dodger would bring to the race. Phil will be on live again at 7:50 tomorrow morning.

The game of political musical chairs in California continues as State Treasurer Fiona Ma officially announced her bid for the position of Lieutenant Governor. If elected, Ma would make history as the first Asian-American to hold the office and become only the second woman to do so. For more, Matt Bigler and Margie Shafer spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier.

There was a big turnout for a town hall meeting in North Oakland last night that was convened to discuss the recent spike in crime. The fact that so many people turned out can't be a good sign.  For more on what the public said, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Niki Medoro spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier.

San Francisco's Mayor London Breed is aiming to spend 692.6 million dollars in an effort to cut the city's homelessness in half. This comes, as Breed puts it herself, "despite a significant budget deficit..." For more KCBS Radio's Matt Bigler spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier...

As we've been reporting, the attorney representing the suspect in the fatal stabbing of tech executive Bob Lee in San Francisco, is withdrawing from the case citing a conflict of interest. Paula Canny refused to elaborate on her decision and for more on this, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Megan Goldsby spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier. 

A recent dive into county data has found that many parts of the Bay Area are battling the drug crisis, but what's being done on the local and state levels and beyond? For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Margie Shafer and Matt Bigler spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier. Phil will be back this afternoon at 5:50. You can listen to this entire interview and past Phil Matier interviews on the Audacy app. Download the app on your smartphone and favorite KCBS Radio. The interviews are posted in the On Demand section or you can utilize the Rewind feature to listen to it back.

Officials with San Francisco's transit system are fighting to keep everything running this summer. But, that may be reliant on whether or not they can secure much-needed funds from the state, saying that without help they're facing about a $130 million dollar budget shortfall.  

San Francisco is expected to postpone its plans to extend metered parking hours during the summer as the city examines the potential long-term effects the plan may have on local businesses. For more, KCB Radio's Eric Thomas spoke with KCBS Insider Phil Matier.